All things being equal
A civil rights expert finds American businesses embrace equality
The ongoing evolution in this country of social mores toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people is having a ripple effect on the corporate sphere, where human resources and recruitment professionals work toward recruiting and retaining this integral part of the national workforce. How to woo them and what policies should an employer seek to implement toward that goal?
We asked Daryl Herrschaft, director of the Workplace Project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, where he monitors and evaluates corporate policies surrounding GLBT workers, consumers and investors.
Q. Tell us about the Workplace Project.
A. Human Rights Campaign is the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization in the country. We have about 600,000 members nationwide. The Workplace Project is the preeminent source of information on corporate policies and practices with regard to GLBT diversity issues in the workplace. We administer an annual corporate quality index that rates corporations on a scale of zero to 100 based on the policies and practices that we think define responsible corporate behaviors in this area. We are a resource to companies in implementing the right policies. We don’t simply rate companies: We provide on-site education, cutting-edge research, and online materials that are designed to help companies institute the policies and practices that will bring about a fair workplace for GLBT employees.
Q. How do companies not on the list respond? Do they ask, “What can we do to be included?”
A. It’s very important. Companies call us all the time to find out how to improve their score, how to become a part of the list in the first place. We’ve really seen not only a race to the top in terms of adding policies and benefits that are friendly to GLBT employees, but we see a very strong appetite to receive recognition for those policies. We have seen, for example, our response rate go from 13 percent to 31 percent as of last year. Not only are companies instituting the right policies for their GLBT employees, they’re also very interested in receiving recognition for doing so.
Q. What are some of the apprehensions employers have in integrating GLBT-friendly policies into their corporate culture?
A. You will find concerns around cost, particularly regarding health insurance benefits for domestic partners. However, there has now been more than two decades of experience showing that domestic-partner benefits add little or no cost to health insurance rates, and it’s a particularly low-cost and high-benefit kind of policy to have. It improves productivity for employees who have an uninsured partner. They don’t need to worry about their spouse’s lack of health benefits and can focus more on work. It improves recruitment potential and retention as well.
Also, we have a fear of offending one group or another. In the current public policy debate in the country, gay issues have become a lightning rod. Companies rightfully are averse to negative publicity. The important thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of companies that institute these policies do so completely out of view of the public. Companies need to ask themselves what are their core values. If they stick to a business rationale, those kinds of incidents are very manageable. I’ve seen many companies manage through what could have been a negative public reaction and have done very well for themselves. The vast majority really see these issues as temporary. They go away in short order.
Q. Given the current conservative climate of the country, is progress being made?
A. Corporate America is well ahead of government in respecting the rights of GLBT employees. We continue to see enormous growth. If you just look at the first year that we released a Corporate Equality Index, which was 2002, we had 13 companies that scored a perfect 100 percent. In 2005, 101 companies scored a perfect 100 percent. And 2005—that’s immediately following the 2004 election cycle in which gay issues were a hot topic for debate. In the corporate world, they are responding to a marketplace. That’s far different than what is going on in public policy debates.
Corporations see a GLBT market that is worth more than 600 billion dollars. They see their competitors and their peers in the industries advancing rapidly on GLBT issues because it’s the right thing to do for their business.
Even in 2005, we saw a number of industries have the first company reach 100 on the Index ever. Raytheon, the cruise missile manufacturer, reached 100 percent. VP and Chevron of the oil and gas industry; Dow Chemical from chemical production all hit 100 percent for the first time. This is a phenomenon that is not limited to the Coasts, it’s not limited to high-tech industries, and it is really proceeding independently of the government.
Q. So when you tell companies that gay-friendly policies simply make good business sense, do they get it?
A. Yes. The one important difference between where we are today and where we were in the ‘90s is that the richness of the data around the business case and the GLBT market has really been developed. It’s to the point where it would be hard for a reasonable, fair-minded business person to look at the numbers of companies that are instituting policies and purchasing behaviors of GLBT people, and not see a way to make money. It’s gotten significantly easier in my time with HRC to demonstrate the business value of inclusive policies.
PULL-QUOTE: '“It is legal in 33 states to fire someone just because they’re gay. And so it’s important for employees to have a reasonable expectation that they can bring their full selves to work and not lose their job because of it.”'
Q. What are some of the actual policies that employers can implement?
A. First, it’s important to include sexual orientation in the non-discrimination policy. It is legal in 33 states to fire someone just because they’re gay. And so it’s important for employees to have a reasonable expectation that they can bring their full selves to work and not lose their job because of it. It sets a tone for how management wants employees to be treated. And it brings more people to the creative table, so that new ideas are developed between trusted coworkers. That leads to new products.
Another policy is a domestic-partner benefits plan. It improves retention and recruitment because it is looked at as a bellwether for diversity. A company that has tackled gay issues in the workplace—I think that you can reasonably say that they have a broad, comprehensive and inclusive view of diversity in their workforce. A lot of people are looking for that.
There are GLBT family partner households in more than 99 percent of counties in the United States, according to the 2000 Census. So a benefits plan that does not include domestic partners is ignoring an increasingly large portion of the workforce.
And finally, the addition of gender-identity expression is a new area that pertains to the rights of transgender people at the job. This is an area that many companies have begun to deal with successfully. There are more than 80 Fortune 500 companies that include gender identity in their policies. They discovered that the issues presented by gender-nonconforming employees are not insurmountable and the business benefits are the same for treating any other employee fairly.
Q. What can companies do better to attract and retain GLBT employees?
A. Developing a GLBT employee resource group is another best practice. I like to say that there is no gay or lesbian issue at a company that gay or lesbian employees can’t help find a solution to. Being out at GLBT recruitment or job fairs is important. Having a GLBT employee resource group that can represent the company at these events is even better. GLBT employees can be the ambassadors of your organization and bring in new talent. They can also act as a conduit of information to management to raise issues before they become problems in the workforce. So a well-supported GLBT employee resource group that is included on business decisions can be very effective in marketing the organization and its product.
Q. What mistakes do organizations typically make when they attempt to be gay-friendly?
A. I think one of the mistakes people make is to not engage the most senior leadership in the company. So when issues arise, they don’t know what to do. The knee-jerk reaction is to avoid controversy, avoid tough decisions. In the long run, that’s not going to be helpful.
Protecting GLBT employees is a value in and of itself that is good for business and is in line with the American value of equal opportunity and equal respect. The issues around religion and sexual orientation can peacefully coexist inside an organization if there’s a strong leadership voice on the organization’s intent with regard to its policies on GLBT people. It’s very important for leaders to be engaged to make it clear that they’re not trying to change personal beliefs. Rather, they are working to bring individuals with different backgrounds together to beat the competition. And, that treating people fairly is one of the things that are going to make the organization successful.
Since 1998, Daryl Herrschaft has overseen the Workplace Project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, consulting with dozens of major corporations on workplace policies. He has presented HRC findings to diverse audiences, including the Conference Board, the Society for Human Resource Management and the New York City Council. He appears frequently in local and national media such as CNN and National Public Radio. Before joining HRC, Daryl was a research associate at the Urban Institute. He holds a bachelor's degree from George Washington University.
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