Companies That Care
By Gaetano Pollice
In Good Company
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We are embracing the promise of this brand-new decade by once again presenting our salute to a diverse array of companies that have shown a commitment to the LGBT community. They represent a variety of industries — automotive, financial, pharmaceutical, transportation and more — but they share a dedication to their gay and lesbian employees and customers.
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Many on our list are stalwarts that have refused to become complacent:
Absolut has made the grade year after year. We also welcome some fresh
faces for 2010: Las Vegas has become a top gay and lesbian destination,
thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority. Here’s to our latest batch of honorees and to the
hope that over the course of the next year, we’ll see more and more
companies following their example.
ABSOLUT
Friendships just get better with age — especially when you’re friends with someone who’s always saved you a seat at the bar. For nearly 30 years, Absolut has supported LGBT organizations, businesses and non-profit groups that further positive images of gay men and lesbians and make a difference in the world, says Scott Seitz, CEO of SPI Marketing, LLC. Over the past year, the vodka makers have displayed their pride by sponsoring RuPaul’s Drag Race on LOGO and by introducing a first-ever LGBT Rainbow bottle. “Visibility is the best way to show the world that we are all created equal,” Seitz says. “And Absolut has been a visible leader in the LGBT community for 29 years strong.”
AMERICAN EXPRESS
There’s power in numbers, as American Express Company well knows: Its LGBT employee network, PRIDE, boasts more than 800 members across the globe. With eight chapters in total — five stateside and three international — the group, founded in 1990, puts employees first. PRIDE not only provides professional development and networking opportunities to employees, but also focuses on recruitment by working with student-run college groups and meeting high-potential candidates at national conferences like Reaching Out. “I encourage everyone to think about what they can do to bring diversity and equality to their workplace and their lives,” says Marya Triandafellos, lead of PRIDE. “Come out, become an ally, volunteer, donate or lead.”
AMERIPRISE
Respect for individuals and for the communities in which we live and work is one of Ameriprise’s four core values, according to Roycie Earvin, director of diversity and inclusion at Ameriprise Financial. Those individuals include members of the LGBT community — as reflected by Ameriprise’s “Individual Treatment Policy,” which bars gender identity discrimination; its 20-year-old PRIDE network for LGBT employees, which advances a diverse workplace culture; and “Safe Place,” an internal diversity training program that increases awareness about sexual orientation. “Providing an inclusive environment isn’t just the right thing to do, it also makes business sense,” says Earvin. “The unique identities and perspectives that our employees bring to the workplace enrich our corporate culture and help us meet the changing needs of our clients.”
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
People and relationships come first at Anheuser-Busch, according to James Ramey, the company’s manager of multicultural marketing: “Anheuser-Busch fosters an environment free of discrimination, regardless of sexual and gender orientation, where all employees are encouraged to utilize their talents to create future success.” The brewer has followed that motto as it has continued its two-decade-long relationship with the LGBT community, evidenced by its ongoing association with organizations like GLAAD and the HRC, as well as its sponsorship of local Gay Rodeo Associations, Pride groups and HIV/AIDS prevention organizations across the country.
THE CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY
The Campbell Soup Company has long been committed to diversity and inclusion; CEO Doug Conant finds it central to doing business. “We simply don’t believe that we can effectively create and market products in an increasingly diverse world, if we are not effectively… retaining a diverse cadre of employees representative of that world.” To raise awareness, over 2,000 key players in the organization attended diversity and inclusion training sessions in 2008. Not content to simply look within, Campbell’s makes a priority of working with minority-owned suppliers and has done notable work with gay- and lesbian-owned businesses.
DELTA
All Delta employees are eligible for domestic partner benefits — including health, dental, life insurance, pension and nifty flight benefits — no wonder they scored a perfect 100 percent score in HRC’s 2010 Corporate Equality Index. The airline has also sponsored Pride Events in cities including Atlanta, Boston, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia (to name just a few). “Delta Air Lines is proud to support our LGBT employees, customers and communities where we live and serve, embracing our diverse people, thinking and styles,” says Paul Skrbec, a Delta spokesperson.
GREATER PHILADELPHIA TOURISM MARKETING CORPORATION
“Philadelphia,” explains Meryl Levitz, the president and CEO of Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, “is so proud to welcome gay and lesbian visitors that even our street signs in the ‘gayborhood’ have rainbows on them.” If that’s not reason enough to visit the “Birthplace of the United States,” how about the fact that GPTMC supports both the individuals and groups that help make its local LGBT community unique, innovative and impactful? By working hand in hand with gay Philadelphians, the GPTMC bolsters community-building events like Philadelphia Gay Pride and OutFest by engaging in cooperative advertising, organizing press trips and assisting with marketing and ticket sales. Welcome to the gayborhood!
GILEAD SCIENCES
For Gilead Sciences — creator of HIV/AIDS treatments Atripla, Emtriva, Truvada and Viread — giving back to the LGBT community is key. Since prevention is key to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, the biopharmaceutical company’s corporate giving focuses on outreach and education. “A major element of our giving is focused on HIV prevention, education and services, and has achieved significant reach within the gay community,” says Erin E. Rau, of Gilead Sciences public affairs.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE
GlaxoSmithKline has partnered with other drug companies to create ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist initiative aimed at aiding HIV communities and pioneering new HIV medicines. In addition to dedicating money toward research and development of new and better treatments, ViiV Healthcare has established preferential non-profit prices on all their antiretroviral medications — which means that in 80 of the world’s poorest countries, treatment is available for as little as 54 cents per day. Combined with its initiatives for Positive Action, which support community-based projects around the world, ViiV aims to take on both the monetary and social barriers to effective management and prevention of HIV and AIDS.
HARRAH'S
Harrah’s Entertainment wants gays to get their game on! As part of the company’s internal equality initiative, Harrah’s extends domestic partnership benefits — including health insurance — to every employee. What’s more, Harrah’s boasts comprehensive nondiscrimination policies; EQUAL, a successful LGBT employee resource group; and support of more than 30 national organizations working toward LGBT causes. So it’s a no-brainer that Harrah’s has received a 100 percent ranking in the HRC’s CEI for three years running, making it the only gaming company to score such a three-peat. “At Harrah’s, we continually seek to grow and improve through diversity and inclusion — not only to groups based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race, age and disability — but also expanding the notion of traditional diversity,” said a representative.
LAS VEGAS CONVENTION AND VISITORS AUTHORITY
Over the years, Las Vegas has played host to such divas as Celine Dion, Cher, Bette Midler, Toni Braxton and more. So why wouldn’t the capital of camp and self-styled “most fabulous city in the world” appeal to gays and lesbians? To that end, just six years ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority implemented a dedicated LGBT marketing initiative with outreach to both leisure and business travelers, embodied in a comprehensive website for gay tourists (accessible through visitlasvegas.com). “Las Vegas is proud to be recognized as a premier LGBT business and leisure destination,” says Mya Reyes, director of diversity marketing for LVCVA. “We have an ongoing commitment to ensuring our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender visitors feel welcome and appreciated.”
MORGAN STANLEY
Last year, Morgan Stanley hosted a “Wealth Planning for Same-Sex Couples” event in Beverley Hills, CA in honor of Pride — just one of its many LGBT Pride Month events. The company is so dedicated to its LGBT employees that it sponsors two inclusive employee networking groups, one on each side of the Atlantic. On the U.S. side, the group was named “Program or Initiative of the Year” by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in 2007. The HRC rates Morgan Stanley at a perfect 100 percent and last year presented them with the Corporate Equality Award.
COMPANY BRIEFS
How do these other high-scorers on the HRC's Equality Index show that they care?
BRIDGESTONEwas the presenting sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign’s 15th-annual Nashville Equality Dinner and Auction.
VOLSKWAGEN BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB CO.'s GLBTA Affinity Group aims to create a respectful, dignified working environment for LGBT employees.
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES hosts LGBT events with the HRC, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON'S Supplier Diversity Program provides opportunities for qualified gay/lesbian-owned businesses.
MACY'S Inc. offers a gift registry inclusive of same-sex couples and some of the most gay-friendly television commercials around. (Way to make it work, Tim Gunn!)
MERCK & CO. is a partner of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
WELLS FARGO is second in DiversityInc’s “Top Ten Companies for LGBT Employees”; it boasts 23 chapters of PRIDE, a resource group for LGBT team members.
PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE
Here’s a prime example of how Progressive lives up to its name: Last year, the company launched an advertising campaign featuring vintage photos of LGBT couples, with the goal of showcasing the beauty and impact of progressive thinking. Progressive then solicited attendees at various Pride events to show their “Faces of Pride” and have their picture taken by a professional photographer. Those photos were uploaded to the Progressive “Faces of Pride” Facebook page, which now features more than 4,200 photos and boasts some 11,000 fans. The campaign won a 2009 GLAAD Media Award.
SHOWTIME
This premium cable network, a longtime supporter of the LGBT community, will continue to heavily feature LGBT characters in its programming in the year ahead, but that doesn’t mean that they plan to make a big fuss about it. “It’s becoming a signature of our shows,” says George DeBolt, senior vice president for media, promotions and partnership marketing at Showtime. “These aren’t token gay characters. They reflect who we are.” The second season of Nurse Jackie — which has already included multiple recurring gay characters — will feature the return of a lesbian couple portrayed by Swoosie Kurtz and Blythe Danner. Also keep your eyes peeled for more of the title character’s gay son in United States of Tara and an upcoming lesbian reality show — dubbed (you guessed it) The Real L Word: Los Angeles. Queer As Folk was just the beginning!
SUBARU
For the past 15 years, Subaru of America, Inc. has been proud to give the LGBT community a lift. They were the first automaker to offer domestic partner benefits to all employees, and they also sponsored community organizations and events including the Rainbow Endowment, AIDS LifeCycle and North American Gay Softball. This made the company a more than worthy recipient of the Corporate Responsibility Award at last year’s first annual GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising. “Due to the diverse insights, talents and perspectives our employees contribute, we have built a cohesive culture and a company where our employees work with pride,” says Thomas J. Doll, executive vice president and COO of Subaru of America, Inc.
VOLSKWAGEN
Volkswagen has embraced their gay market since their 2004 ad campaign, which encouraged LGBTs to “be exactly who you are” and “express it any way you want.” Machelle D. Williams, general manager of diversity and organizational development at Volkswagen, says that they also aim to provide their employees, “whatever their sexual orientation, a measure of comfort to know that their workplace will not only be non-discriminatory, but will actually welcome the uniqueness of each person.” The automaker makes a point to actively support LGBT causes and events in the communities where it does business. Case in point: Last year, the company sponsored Detroit’s Pride events and the Ruth Ellis Center, which provides shelter for displaced LGBT teenagers.
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