Would Senate Bill 600 - the workplace anti-discrimination bill for gays that passed the state Senate unanimously in the 2008 Legislature, but died in the House - be gloom and doom for business in West Virginia as some conservative organizations claim?
Would Senate Bill 600 - the workplace anti-discrimination bill for gays that passed the state Senate unanimously in the 2008 Legislature, but died in the House - be gloom and doom for business in West Virginia as some conservative organizations claim?
No way! Not according to marketing surveys or annual reports from groups that track the effects of gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender anti-discrimination policies on American businesses.
According to Fortune magazine, in 2007 nearly 90 percent of the 500 largest publicly traded companies (employing nearly 25 million people) prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. That's up from 65 percent in 2003. Furthermore, 58 percent of these 500 companies provide employment protection based on gender identity. Companies don't rise into Fortune 500 ranking by doing politically correct things for their employees unless those things pay off in profit, growth and work-force stability.
Every year, more American companies climb on the "GLBT nondiscrimination" bandwagon because they've decided it's not savvy to cling to outmoded, discriminatory and unprofitable business practices when most of our country's most successful businesses are moving in another direction.
I'm an idealist who prefers to argue the merits of SB600 in terms of justice, not profit margins. However, I can't let a "bad-for-business" rap be hung unchallenged on SB600 by well-intentioned but irrational groups about GLBT people. Go to the Internet and check out the nation's top companies with anti-discrimination guidelines in place - companies like Macy's, Disney, AllState, Verizon, UPS, Marriott, Wells Fargo, Raytheon, Sprint, Cisco and DuPont, just to name a few.
Profits and work-force stability are being harvested by businesses that have often forged ahead of legislatures in establishing nondiscrimination practices in their workplaces. I love it when profit margins and justice for workers can be shown to be mutually enriching.
Businesses do what is good for business. A Gallup poll in May 2007 informed corporate America that 89 percent of U.S. citizens think gays and lesbians should have protection against workplace discrimination. These 89 percent believe that job performance - not sexual orientation - should determine hiring and firing practices, salaries and promotions.
And why does this 89 percent matter to corporate America? They are all consumers, and some are potential employees. They buy the products companies sell, work to make the products, and respond positively to companies that don't discriminate against GLBT employees.
Furthermore, of this 89 percent a certain subset identifies as GLBT. Recent marketing reports indicate GLBT people are among the most loyal of customers with regard to products from companies with SB 600 guidelines in place.
Would Senate Bill 600 - the workplace anti-discrimination bill for gays that passed the state Senate unanimously in the 2008 Legislature, but died in the House - be gloom and doom for business in West Virginia as some conservative organizations claim?
No way! Not according to marketing surveys or annual reports from groups that track the effects of gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender anti-discrimination policies on American businesses.
According to Fortune magazine, in 2007 nearly 90 percent of the 500 largest publicly traded companies (employing nearly 25 million people) prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. That's up from 65 percent in 2003. Furthermore, 58 percent of these 500 companies provide employment protection based on gender identity. Companies don't rise into Fortune 500 ranking by doing politically correct things for their employees unless those things pay off in profit, growth and work-force stability.
Every year, more American companies climb on the "GLBT nondiscrimination" bandwagon because they've decided it's not savvy to cling to outmoded, discriminatory and unprofitable business practices when most of our country's most successful businesses are moving in another direction.
I'm an idealist who prefers to argue the merits of SB600 in terms of justice, not profit margins. However, I can't let a "bad-for-business" rap be hung unchallenged on SB600 by well-intentioned but irrational groups about GLBT people. Go to the Internet and check out the nation's top companies with anti-discrimination guidelines in place - companies like Macy's, Disney, AllState, Verizon, UPS, Marriott, Wells Fargo, Raytheon, Sprint, Cisco and DuPont, just to name a few.
Profits and work-force stability are being harvested by businesses that have often forged ahead of legislatures in establishing nondiscrimination practices in their workplaces. I love it when profit margins and justice for workers can be shown to be mutually enriching.
Businesses do what is good for business. A Gallup poll in May 2007 informed corporate America that 89 percent of U.S. citizens think gays and lesbians should have protection against workplace discrimination. These 89 percent believe that job performance - not sexual orientation - should determine hiring and firing practices, salaries and promotions.
And why does this 89 percent matter to corporate America? They are all consumers, and some are potential employees. They buy the products companies sell, work to make the products, and respond positively to companies that don't discriminate against GLBT employees.
Furthermore, of this 89 percent a certain subset identifies as GLBT. Recent marketing reports indicate GLBT people are among the most loyal of customers with regard to products from companies with SB 600 guidelines in place.
Ditto for their loyalty as employees. Why would a company want to hold onto its GLBT employees? First of all, a stable work force is good for profit margins. Furthermore, intuition tells me that GLBT employees are among the most hardworking and creative people. All members of any minority group who have suffered job discrimination and false portrayals have historically had to work hard and creatively to hold a place in the work force. People of color know this. Women know this. GLBT people know this.
When GLBT employees are treated fairly, they stick with a company, often working rings around the more "historically privileged" employees. GLBT employees and consumers are good for a company's profit margins.
States who woo Fortune 500 companies for conventions or subsidiary business are asking their legislators and governors for bills like West Virginia's Senate Bill 600. Fortune 500 companies naturally prefer to do business in a state with "fairness" guidelines similar to those the companies adopted for their own work places.
Our governor can put up all the "Open for Business" signs he wants, but companies check the small print when choosing places to host their business ventures. Some West Virginians have recently created bad publicity for our state by telling pollsters they are reluctant to vote for a person of color. (I suspect that voters in other states have a proportional reluctance, but aren't as plainspoken about it as West Virginians.)
Regardless of political preferences, statements that appear racist are not good for any state's business image. Let's not further tarnish our state's business image by opposing fair workplace bills like SB600 while claiming such bills are bad for business. It just isn't so. And the claim makes us look ignorant about economics.
When Sprint Nextel Corp. recently received a 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign (a national GLBT activist group) for its inclusive policies in the workplace, Sandy Price, a spokesperson for Sprint, revealed that his company worked hard to create an inclusive workplace because those policies allowed Sprint to reach a broader base of customers. Price pointed out that the "inclusive" business approach is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.
West Virginia needs to do the right thing and pass SB600 next session. Turns out, it's good for business.
Lindsey, who lives in Fayette County, is a leader of the Straight and Gay Alliance, which meets at St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston.
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Have you seen these quotes from corporate officers publicly acknowledging the benefits of inclusive policies?
“One word: competitiveness. It’s not just a nice-to-do thing. It’s a requirement to be successful in the private sector.”—John Hassell, director for federal and state government affairs, Hewlett-Packard Co., when asked why his company supported gay and lesbian inclusive workplaces.
“Gay and Lesbian inclusiveness is a critical component of our objective to be the employer of choice, service provider of choice, business partner of choice and neighbor of choice globally.”—Ana Duarte McCarthy, chief diversity officer, Citigroup.
So true. So true.
Thanks, Gazette, for publishing such a great commentary.
In fact, MSNBC exit polling of Democratic voters show these states are the top five for answering this question
:
"In deciding your vote for president today, was the race of the candidate important?"
West Virginia 22%
Kentucky 21%
Tennessee 21%
Ohio 20%
Oklahoma 20%
We can wear our "plainspoken" quality like a badge of honor, but what buisnesses see is confirmation that we are as ill-educated as our reputation says we are. Most would use this data as evidence of an astonishing prevalance of racism and bigotry in these states. Spin and denial will not change this perception...