What do gay rights, global warming and labor conditions in China have in common? They are all issues about which mainstream companies are taking a more progressive stance than the White House or Congress. In my CNN Money column today, I look at the corporate progress towards providing GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) workers equality in the workplace. The column was sparked by a new report from the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group.
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Most of America's best-known companies are reaching out to gay and lesbian workers, as well as gay consumers, despite the criticism they get from conservative Christian groups.Consider: No Fortune 500 company offered health benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian workers until Levi Strauss did so in 1992. Today, more than half of the Fortune 500 offer those benefits.
Beyond that, blue-chip companies recruit gay MBAs. They seek out suppliers owned by gay and lesbian business people. And they advertise in gay media such as Logo, the cable TV network launched last year by Viacom.
Read the rest of the column here.
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