Two Steps Forward, One Step Back.

TWO STEPS FORWARD

New HRC Report Shows Major Increase in Basic Workplace Protections for Gay, Transgender Employees

Among Fortune 500 Companies, Transgender Protections Quadruple Since 2003;
Nearly 90 Percent Protect Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Employees

WASHINGTON– The number of Fortune 500 companies that ban workplace discrimination for transgender Americans has risen 60 percent since Jan. 2006 and has quadrupled since 2003, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “State of the Workplace for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans 2006-2007,” released today. The report also showed steady growth in the number of employers offering domestic partner benefits over the last year.

“It took the gay civil rights movement nearly two decades to see the growth that the transgender community has seen in the last five years in terms of workplace protections,” said HRC Foundation President Joe Solmonese. “Fortune 500 companies are moving decisively to protect the entire GLBT community from workplace discrimination and it is time for our nation’s laws to catch up.”

Since Jan. 2006, the number of Fortune 500 companies that include gender identity in their non-discrimination policies went from 78 to 125. In 2003, only eight companies had such policies. Employers across industries have added protections for transgender workers. In the aerospace and defense industries, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman and Boeing followed Raytheon’s 2005 announcement that it will protect transgender employees from discrimination. Other companies that expanded their non-discrimination policies include Internet giants Google and Yahoo!; supermarket giants Safeway and Costco; pharmaceutical firms Merck, Eli Lilly and DuPont; and Marriott, Hilton and Starwood among hotels…..

…..“This is a clear indication that successful, mainstream American businesses can do well while also doing the right thing for their transgender employees,” said Daryl Herrschaft, director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Project.

For the full report in PDF click here.

ONE STEP BACK

World's largest retailer stops donating to gay-rights organizations. Fortune's Marc Gunther reports.


FORTUNE Magazine
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer
June 22 2007: 11:52 AM EDT

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) -- Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has decided to curb its support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organizations after conservative Christian groups threatened a boycott, and after some of its own employees expressed disapproval.

The move comes a year after Wal-Mart (Charts, Fortune 500) had put on a gay-friendly smile. The company joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. It sponsored the annual convention of Out & Equal, a group that promotes gay rights in the workplace, and sold gay-themed jewelry in stores.