Realigning the Marketplace with LGBT Consumers to Promote Equality

Workplace equality for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities is an issue that has grown in renown in the past decade. As more people rally for the cause, major corporations and small businesses alike are showing their support through programs that protect the rights of their LGBT workers or reimburse individuals in domestic partnerships for the extra taxes they must pay because they are unable to marry. Many businesses have spoken out against workplace discrimination towards non-heterosexual employees, but few businesses have taken up the challenge that OSL Holdings is currently facing.

OSL Holdings is a data technology company founded by Eric Kotch that seeks to acquire data about the purchasing habits of LGBT individuals and straight allies and distribute this data in order to connect businesses and people who support the LGBT community. According to the president of OSL Holdings, Robert Rothenberg, the company is “creating the tools to expend the marketplace in identifying the LGBT community, identify LGBT-owned businesses with major corporations so they can contract with them and do some business.”

OSL Holdings has created a rewards program to incentivize businesses to use the service. This rewards program uses “reward currency” that can be earned and then redeemed for participating goods and services. According to the OSL Holdings website, reward currency functions as a type of “Loyalty Program” that gives credit to loyal customers and businesses, which gives retailers “a package of products and services for better business efficiency, boosting sales and profitability.” These products and services will allow the businesses to market more specifically to the LGBT community, which will thus provide this community with a better marketplace experience and will boost sales for the businesses themselves.

OSL Holdings is not the first company that has sought to strengthen the LGBT community using the marketplace. Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), a company that according to its slogan has “helped business leaders understand and successfully connect with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community since 1992,” also seeks to expose the importance of the LGBT community in the marketplace. CMI holds conferences and workshops for employees, executives, and small business owners that focus on how companies can incorporate the LGBT community in their marketing, thus gaining the business of a strong community.

CMI also hosts events around the United States that allow businesses and corporations that all support workplace and marketplace equality for individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The company will be holding its sixth-annual Gay and Lesbian Marketing Conference in New York City during March of 2013. The conference includes sessions that focus on why the LGBT community is important to the economy, how to market products and services to this community, and how to connect with other businesses working towards the same goal.

When large corporations and small businesses connect in order to advocate for the LGBT community, this strong network of support can help individuals to come together and rally for the cause. Companies like OSL Holdings and Community Marketing, Inc. help LGBT individuals and straight allies to unite and support a community that is vital to the American economy. If we support marketplace equality, not only will we strengthen the LGBT community, but with companies like OSL Holdings and CMI uniting the supporters, we will also strengthen the American economy. 

Written by Jordan Javelet

Goucher College

LGBT Rights Across the United States

The Guardian’s colorful pinwheel detailing LGBT rights across the United States.

Check out this excellent interactive tool from The Guardian that breaks down LGBT rights in the United States state-by-state. The chart provides information concerning laws that govern marriage, adoption, hospital visitation, employment discrimination, and other categories.

Since we last featured this cipher in May, several advancements towards equality have been made, including: the progression of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in Congress, the passage of marriage equality statutes in 4 new states, the increase in the frequency of LGBT-inclusive advertising, and more!

As momentum continues to build in the fight for LGBT equality in the workplace, the marketplace, and beyond, take a few moments to check out where your state stands in this movement.

 

Improving How We Serve the Financial Needs of the LGBT Community

Written by Michelle

In an increasingly volatile economy, a financial planner is becoming more important to achieving economic security, yet financial planning firms are generally unresponsive to the needs of the LGBT community.

A 2010 survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards found that nearly half of respondents believe financial planners have become more of an asset since the financial crisis. Of those who began using a financial planner since 2008,  the start of the recession, 31% did so as “difficult times created more need for financial guidance.” People have discovered that financial planners help manage crises and life changes that could significantly impact their economic resources, making the ability to receive frequent financial advice a valuable tool today.

LGBT Americans remain distanced from its benefits, though. Prudential Financial Inc., a company specializing in insurance, investment management, and other financial products, recently released an online study of 1,400 LGBT Americans that found that 63% rated the financial industry’s attention to their needs as 4 or lower out of a score of 10; another 47% don’t believe this dynamic will improve over the next two years.

LGBT Financial Challenges

But the LGBT community faces unique financial needs that are unaddressed, even though they share many core concerns as heterosexual individuals: retirement, preparedness in the face of unemployment, and establishing a fund for future generations are three concerns that are often shared regardless of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Despite these common concerns, the laws regarding LGBT finances and families vary in different states, frequently change, and are not widely promoted or easily understandable. Specialized concerns include:

• Treating taxes for same-sex couples
• Accruing social security and pension benefits for surviving partners
• Retirement planning needs for aging same-sex couples
• Health directives
• Separation/treatment of finances for divorce
• Wills/estate-tax exemptions for children

Because of these additional considerations that heterosexual individuals do not encounter, the LGBT population often needs knowledgeable financial planning assistance. Yet the void of responsiveness to these needs results in a lack of confidence in the financial planning institution.

This dissonance deepens to a point where LGBT individuals lose confidence in themselves as financial planners, as they contend with the triple blow of a recession in an economy that already discriminates against them, together with an advisory system that neglects their unique needs.

Moving Forward

The Prudential research study offers a few suggestions for financial planners trying to reach out to the LGBT community. Within this audience, most are solidly middle-class, and retirement is the top financial concern. In terms of outreach strategies, financial planners need to be sensitive to the distinct characteristics and outlooks of different groups in the LGBT community and to general economic discrimination – most are far more concerned about equality in Social Security or legislation affecting LGBT financial rights than the national debt and inflation.

Expertise in the complex financial and familial concerns of same-sex couples or LGBT parents is sorely needed, and can help better and empower millions of lives.

Creating Change in 2013 – Atlanta, Georgia

The 2013 Creating Change conference, focused on LGBT Equality, will be held in Atlanta, Georgia from January 23 to January 27, 2013.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hosts this event, which will offer 350 workshops and training sessions, as well as other fantastic opportunities to network and see what others are doing to support LGBT equality in this country.

Those interested in attending can register here!

Readjusting Tax Benefits for LGBT couples

Although marriage equality acts have only been passed in ten states (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C.), many companies have begun implementing plans that will provide tax benefits for their gay and lesbian employees in domestic partnerships. Because non-heterosexual employees can only get married in certain states, many gay and lesbian employees who are part of a domestic partnership do not get the tax benefits provided to married couples, and since the government will not provide these tax benefits, companies have started providing the benefits themselves.

TD Bank is the latest company to begin offering tax benefits to its non-heterosexual employees. The bank has created a program that allows its employees in domestic partnerships to sign up for these benefits. TD Bank will then pay for the taxes on employer-provided health benefits that the individuals otherwise would have to pay themselves. This tax does not apply to married heterosexual employees, and in states where legislation prohibits marriage equality, many non-heterosexual couples must pay the tax.

TD Bank latest  to address tax inequalities resulting from lack of marriage equality

TD Bank is not the first company to implement a program that compensates for the tax on employer-provided health care. Many major corporations, such as Google, American Express, JetBlue, and Facebook, already provide tax reimbursements for their non-heterosexual employees, and many of these companies have been providing these tax benefits for several years.

Many other companies that do not already provide tax reimbursements plan to begin a tax benefit program. Time Warner, like TD Bank, will begin providing tax benefits on January 1, 2013. Other companies, like Verizon and IBM, have no current plans but are reviewing their policies and the costs of a program providing tax reimbursements. Hopefully, these companies will begin planning and may be able to implement programs to provide tax equality for their non-heterosexual employees in domestic partnerships.

Although state governments may prevent non-heterosexual couples from getting married and utilizing the tax benefits associated with marriage, it is reassuring to know that major companies are willing to take the matter into their own hands and provide these benefits to their employees in domestic partnerships. It may take several years before marriage equality is ratified across the country, but it is clear that more and more individuals and companies recognize the lack of equality and are willing to work to change this problem. As more companies support equality for all citizens regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, more pressure is put on citizens and on state governments to provide these tax benefits and to eventually legalize marriage equality.

Jordan Javelet

Goucher College

Yet Another Economic Strike Against the Boy Scouts of America

 

 

 

 

 

 

One day after we posted that Verizon had been petitioned to end its funding to the anti-gay Boy Scouts of America (BSA), one of the organization’s largest funders – the Merck Foundation – has made the decision to eliminate its own funding.

Merck, which manufactures pharmaceutical products, said that the BSA’s active exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals conflicts with the company’s non-discrimination policy. As a business entity, Merck has to honor the ethical guidelines that govern its actions. Bankrolling a group that explicitly and deliberately violates those principles weakens the entire company’s ethical backdrop.

Interestingly, though, this moral conflict is clothed in economics and law – Merck has not decided to withdraw funding just because they disagree with the BSA’s practice of discrimination on grounds of social policy – those actions also violate one of Merck’s company policies. This dual-pronged reasoning helps frame Merck’s decision as one not simply of impassioned moralizing in the social realm, but of good business practice, too.

Merck donated $30,000 to the BSA in 2011, not enough to crack the list of top 25 BSA funders, but certainly enough to send a message if cancelled – and even more powerful when we consider the fact that Merck is one of many businesses doing just that.

There appears to be growing momentum among businesses that they have a responsibility to promote a more egalitarian workplace and that they can leverage their economic relationships in order to do that. We need more businesses like Merck to be willing to act on their non-discrimination policies. The words written in them are not empty; they have meaning and they should be viewed as standards.

Until the law in every state has codified that one cannot be discriminated against because of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity, businesses will have to assume the task of implementing this principle themselves. Although it is certainly admirable, it is not enough for a business to be inclusive themselves and call it a day; we need them to ascertain whether their neighboring stores, suppliers, and partnering institutions also support workplace equality.

A Glance at Workplace Equality in Colorado

Written by Jordan Javelet (Goucher College)

Fifteen states in the nation have laws protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I am proud to say that one of these states is my home state of Colorado. It’s a large state with a population of about five million, and although it’s a swing state, Colorado’s nine electoral votes went to President Obama in November.

I’m sure President Obama’s support of marriage equality and other legislation protecting citizens of all sexual orientations and gender identities influenced many Coloradans’ voting choice—particularly in two of the biggest cities in the state, Denver (the capitol) and Boulder.

I grew up in Arvada, which is about halfway between Denver and Boulder, and I’ve been visiting the two cities all my life. Denver is a pretty big city, although now that I’ve seen East Coast cities, I have to say it is substantially smaller than most of the older cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore. Denver is very accepting of individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities. There is a section of town called Cheesman Park where the population is predominantly made up of non-heterosexual individuals. The Cheesman Park grocery store King Soopers is fondly called “Queen Soopers” by people all over the Denver-metro area, and when strolling through Cheesman Park, it is common to see same-sex couples holding hands or playing with their children.

Photo of Cheesman Park

Boulder is one of the college towns of Colorado. It is home to the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado’s largest university (30,000 students), and it is perhaps the most liberal city in Colorado. It played a huge role in passing the act that legalized marijuana for recreational use in the state, and it has long been an area where people believe that sexual orientation and gender identity should play no role in determining a person’s rights. Perhaps it is the influence of the college students; perhaps it is something else, but either way, Boulder is accepting and loving towards its LGBTQ community.

Another view of Cheesman Park

Although Denver and Boulder are two of the biggest and most influential cities in terms of equality, the entire state has legislation ensuring workplace equality for all citizens on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many Colorado elected officials have expressed their support of workplace equality, such as Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who has been openly supportive of both marriage equality and workplace equality since 2004, when he was still the mayor of Denver. Colorado senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet are both proponents of equality based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter has strongly supported equal rights throughout his career. He voted in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in Colorado, which: “Makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, including actions based on the actual or perceived sexual orientation of a person with whom the individual associates or has associated. [The act] prohibits preferential treatment or quotas.”

Colorado’s legislation ensuring workplace equality has been in effect since 2007, making it one of the first states to pass legislation that provides legal protection in the workplace for all individuals. Colorado’s continued support of the LGBTQ community proves that Coloradans want to be a part of a country in which all citizens are treated equally, and as time goes by, hopefully more states will follow Colorado’s example and ratify acts to protect all citizens in the workplace, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Verizon Faces an Important Choice on LGBT Inclusion

One month after the UPS Foundation’s decision to cut all funding of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) due to the latter’s anti-gay employment policies, Verizon has been singled out for its contributions to the BSA. 

Zach Wahls, founder of Scouts for Equality and noted same-sex marriage advocate, has launched a Change.org petition asking Verizon to live up to it’s own published diversity statement, which state that the organization will “serve the community without discrimination” based on sexual orientation. It just so happens the the BSA has been actively and openly discriminating against its patrons based on their sexual orientation for years. And in 2010, Verizon donated over $300,000 to the organization.

As the pressure for enhanced workplace equality – both within the workplace itself and between business networks – gains momentum, more businesses are having their actions held up to a rubric of LGBT-inclusion. Businesses may occupy a clear spot in the economic realm, but their hiring practices and charitable donations have ramifications in the lives of real people, and they should expect those practices and donations to be held to high standards.

The President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Herndon Graddick, said that “Verizon’s silence is heard throughout the community and the time is now for them to join their peers in standing up for gay youth in scouting.”

Indeed, the corporation has arrived at a crossroads, one where they are simply expected to operate by the principles that they created for themselves: namely, inclusion of all people regardless of sexual orientation.

At the moment Verizon represents a business that has co-opted the message of inclusion while failing to actually live by it. We expect them to have the accountability to make their actions as a business more authentic by cutting their donations to a group that explicitly violates their anti-discrimination policy.

Verizon made its own rules; we’re asking it to follow them.

What’s more, Verizon should go a step further to revise its diversity statement to protect the category of “gender identity” from discrimination. Although the corporation already protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of “gender,” it is important to recognize that from a legal standpoint those two categories are considered different things. As a result, unless “gender identity” is specified, it is not considered an identity protected by the company’s non-discrimination policy.

World AIDS Day – The Conversation Continues

Written by Jordan Javelet, Goucher College

HIV/AIDS and Workplace Equality

On Saturday, December 1^st, millions around the globe observed World AIDS Day. While World AIDS Day primarily focuses on increasing awareness of the disease, how it is spread, and how it can be prevented, it is also important to consider the ways that individuals living with HIV and AIDS are treated in everyday life and, in particular, in the workplace. Many people do not realize that AIDS does not prevent individuals from working, raising children, and leading mostly normal lives, and this often causes people to overlook discrimination against individuals with AIDS in the workplace.

Under federal law, individuals with AIDS cannot be fired or denied jobs on the basis of being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents discrimination on this basis by implementing policies prohibiting workplace discrimination and providing legal ramifications in case discrimination does occur. The ADA also works with the Department of Justice to “combat stigma and stereotypes by improving awareness and educating more people about their rights and responsibilities under federal law,” according to Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder also says: “Together with our partners under the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, we are committed to using every legal authority to ensure critical protections for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.”

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy focuses on creating a specific plan that is both comprehensive and comprehensible, one that will allow all citizens to fully understand HIV/AIDS and will “provide a roadmap for policymakers and the general public.” The strategy includes several goals, among them reducing the number of new HIV cases, increasing medical care and support for those already infected with HIV, and making sure that all HIV-infected individuals are treated equally regardless of their HIV-status, race, gender, or sexual orientation.

In Baltimore

Baltimore has its own comprehensive plan based on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy that seeks to achieve similar goals, but with strong focus on the demographic and epidemiological statistics of HIV/AIDS-infected Baltimore citizens. According to studies performed to gather data for crafting Baltimore’s plan, more than 13,000 Baltimore citizens are infected with HIV/AIDS, and males make up approximately 60 percent of these cases. Mirroring national statistics, non-heterosexual men have been most affected by HIV/AIDS, followed closely by racial minority groups and drug-users. Because of this data, the Baltimore HIV/AIDS Strategy has narrowed its purview to increasing awareness of the disease, improving availability of prevention resources to these at-risk groups, and strengthening medical care in existing cases.

Because Baltimore citizens who are infected with HIV/AIDS make up only 2% of the city’s total population, it is not difficult to overlook them. Yet overlooking these individuals is inexcusable, as these citizens are not only members of our community, but also members of our workforce who contribute to the local economy. They deserve to have the basic right of not being denied employment or promotion simply because of their HIV-status. Workplace equality applies to them as much as it does to the LGBT community. Unlike LGBT citizens, though, those infected with HIV/AIDS have the benefit of a federal law protecting them from workplace discrimination.

Nevertheless, no law is air-tight, and as a result it is up to all of us to protect the rights of our fellow citizens, regardless of whether they are living with HIV/AIDS. It is up to us to keep the two percent from turning into just another statistic, another minority group swept under the rug and forgotten.

They are our friends, our neighbors, our family members—and we must keep this in mind if we wish to keep our workplaces equal.