Corporate America -- Setting the Bar for GLBT Inclusion
In September, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) released its 5th Annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) showing the largest U.S. companies are increasingly expanding their benefits packages and anti-harassment policies to include their gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender (GLBT) employees. The release of the 2006 report shows 138 companies scoring a perfect rating of 100%, a tenfold increase from their premier report in 2002. Among those making the list, our congratulations goes to Boeing, Microsoft, PepsiCo (all earning 100%), in addition to, Exelon and Safeco for their great work!
Areas included on the 100 point scale include: having a written non-discrimination policy that covers Sexual Orientation (SO), offering health, bereavement and family leave to employees with same sex partners, and declining to engage in activities that would undermine the goal of equal rights for GLBT people. The CEI is guided by the Equality Project's Equality Principles listed below. We believe this offers companies a solid reference to ensure their inclusion and diversity initiatives incorporate their GLBT team members.
Equality Project's Equality Principles
• The company will prohibit discrimination based on SO and gender expression or gender identity as part of its written employment policy statement.
• The company will disseminate its written employment policy statement company-wide.
• The company will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of any employee's actual or perceived health condition, status or disability.
• The company will offer equal health insurance and other benefits to employees to cover their domestic partners regardless of the employee's marital status, SO, gender expression or gender identity.
• The company will include discussions of SO, gender expression and gender identity as part of its official employee diversity and sensitivity training communications.
• The company will give employee groups equal standing, regardless of SO, gender identity or gender expression.
• The company advertising policy will avoid the use of negative stereotypes based on SO, gender identity or gender expression.
• The company will not discriminate in its advertising, marketing or promotion of events on the basis of SO, gender expression or gender identity.
• The company will not discriminate in the sale of its goods or services on the basis of SO, gender expression or gender identity.
• The company will not bar charitable contributions to groups and organizations on the basis of SO, gender expression or gender identity, nor will it support groups opposed to such rights. For more information or to read the report visit the HRC.
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Calendar of Events
December 2006 - Universal Human Rights Month
6th - St. Nicholas Day
The inspiration of Santa Claus is based on the activities of St. Nicholas, a 4th century bishop from the Byzantine Empire in a city called Myra what is now in Turkey. St. Nicholas was renowned for his generosity, secret gift giving and aid to those in need. Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated throughout Northern Europe in which children put out their shoes in hopes of receiving small gifts of sweets, cookies, fruit, nuts and coins left by the Saint.
10th - Human Rights Day
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed: the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”
15th-23rd - Hanukkah
Hanukkah meaning “dedication” is the annual Jewish holiday that runs for eight successive days. Also known as the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Dedication, Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabbee in 165 BC after the temple had been destructed during a war with the Seleucid Empire and it commemorates the miracle of oil that burned for 8 days.
21st – Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year. Over the course of history, winter solstice was a significant holiday entrenched in symbolism and traditions. It was a time to celebrate the death of the old and the birth of the new (spring would now be imminent with the onset of longer days). Early pagans honored the sun god with celebrations that incorporated feasting, fire and candles (representing light). In the fourth century Church leaders in Rome chose December 25th as a Christian holiday to coincide with the pagan celebrations of the solstice hoping to replace the tradition with a Christian one. Such Christmas holiday traditions such as burning the Yule log, hanging evergreens and mistletoe, decorating trees, and lighting candles were originally pagan customs for the winter solstice.
25th - Christmas
Christmas is a Christian holiday held every year on December 25 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Over the years, in many Western countries, Christmas has become more secular with an emphasis family gatherings and on its economic significance. Christmas is most characterized by the exchange of gifts and a time of merrymaking. Many of the Christmas traditions originally derived from winter solstice celebrations.
26th - Kwanzaa Begins
Kwanzaa is an African American holiday celebrating family, community and culture. “Kwanzaa” is Swahili for “first fruits” which refers to the first harvest celebrations of Africa. A seven day long holiday, Kwanzaa is based on the seven guiding principles (Nguzo Saba) – one for each day of observance: unity, self-determination, responsibility, commerce, purpose, creativity and faith.
26th - Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a public holiday observed by Britain and other Commonwealth countries on the day after Christmas. It was a day for giving gifts and donations to the poor and needy. In other parts of Europe , Boxing Day is known as St. Stephen's Day.
30th - New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is the last day of the Gregorian calendar. Since the 20th century Western cultures have celebrated the move into a new year at the strike of midnight with grand fanfare of parties, noisemaking, champagne, fireworks and other festivities.
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New at EDS
Welcome back! After spending a year in Nicaragua working at a feminist NGO and studying Spanish, Tera Bianchi has returned part-time to EDS to continue as the newsletter writer and EDS resource manager. In her off time Tera picks up occasional writing projects and is an active member in her community.
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People
Former tennis star Billie Jean Moffitt King was born November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California. During her illustrious career, she won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Her most notable match, however, was in 1973 against Bobby Riggs, who had publicly proclaimed no woman could beat him (the previous year he had beaten Margaret Court ). The match was sold as "The Battle of the Sexes," and when King thwarted Riggs, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, she became a feminist icon.
American writer and social activist, Rita Mae Brown was born November 28, 1944. In her political activism, Ms. Brown has been involved in the American Civil Rights Movement , the anti-war movement, the Gay Liberation movement, and the feminist movement . She participated in the Stonewall riots in New York City . She played a leading role in the Lavender Menace of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Betty Friedan's anti-lesbian remarks, and the exclusion of lesbians and lesbian issues from the women's movement.
Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis was born November 29, 1960 in El Cajon, California. He is renowned for winning back-to-back Olympic titles in diving in both the 3m and 10m events. In 1984 he received the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
British humorist, writer, actor and gay pioneer Quentin Crisp, born on December 25, 1908, was renowned for his memorable and insightful witticisms. During the 1970s he became an image of the gay community after the publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant which drew public attention to his defiant exhibitionism and refusal to conceal his homosexuality.
Barbara Jordan, Born February 21, 1936, held many 'firsts' in her career: First African American woman elected to the Texas Senate, first African American to deliver a keynote address at a political convention and the first Black woman elected to the US Congress from a Southern State. She was a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and had been a lawyer and congressional representative whose sole lifelong devotion was to the U.S. Constitution.
Audre Lorde, February 18, 1934, a poet of great stature, internationally acclaimed as an activist, teacher and artist, Audre Lorde was in her own words, "Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, warrior, poet" and for many years, "cancer survivor." She was also a theorist and catalyst central to changes in nation-wide feminist curricula, a founding member of Sisters in Support of Sisters in South Africa (SISA), and a co-founder of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.
back to top »Data Dump (Did You Know?)
It is legal in 33 states to fire someone for being gay, lesbian or bisexual. And legal in 43 states to fire an employee for being transgender.
Buying For Equity: HRC released their Buying for Equality guide based on the annual CEI report (as referred to in the feature). With an estimated $641 Billion in buying power, 69% of GLBT consumers said in a survey they are “very likely or likely” to support GLBT friendly companies. To see this list and target your shopping visit Buying for Equity.
Estimates suggest that more than 36,000 gay men and lesbians are serving in active duty, representing 2.5 percent of active duty personnel . When the guard and reserve are included, nearly 65,000 men and women in uniform are likely gay or lesbian, accounting for 2.8 percent of military personnel .
The military and Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)
- The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest employer and the only organization that enforces a policy of discrimination based on SO.
- Since DADT was implemented in 1993 the military has discharged more then 10,000 service members under the policy.
- To date more then $285 million of taxpayers' money has been spent to replace those discharged.
- In 1994 617 gays and lesbians were discharged, steadily inclining until the war on terror, discharges reached their height in 2001 with 1273.
- As of May 2006, reports show the rate of discharge for being gay remained at a steady increase until the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks – since then there has been a relatively steady decrease each year.
Taken from Servicemembers Legal Defense Network website
back to top »Kudos for Best Practices for Diversity
Kudos for this quarter go to United States Gypsum (USG) corporation under the leadership of CEO Bill Foote and the diversity leadership team of Brian Cook, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Chris Rosenthal, Director of Talent Management and Diversity, and Helen Wolfe, Diversity Manager. On January 1, 2007 USG joins several other leading American corporations that offer domestic partner benefits. As importantly, USG introduces the new benefit extension by sharing a powerful and informative business case for doing so. Among the business case arguments cited: “More than 600,000 households or 1.2 million Americans identified themselves as living in a same-sex domestic partnership in the 2000 census. This benefit will help us attract and retain the most talented employees in an increasingly competitive marketplace and will help us continue our efforts to promote an inclusive work environment for all USG employees. We recognize that there are some people who cannot offer their families the same options as a married, opposite sex couple---not because they don't want to marry, but because they don't have the legal ability to do so.”
Hats off the USG for this important advancement in creating the kind of inclusive workplace that taps the talents of the total workforce.
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Games, games, games! Creating and using games to educate, entertain, and assess what participants have learned is one of the newest tools being used by trainers.
Two primary resources are useful in getting started so you can “Let the games begin!”
I'll Take Learning for 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate and Train by Dan Yaman and Missy Covington is published by Pfeiffer. This book is helpful in identifying how to use games, using either high or low tech approaches. The authors provide descriptions of a range of game shows, how to create appropriate questions, and include the limitations of each type of game. The CD that comes with the book provides rule cards for eight different game shows. This is a particularly useful tool as you begin to think about games and creating questions. What the book does not do, is provide templates for the games. For this assistance, you need to go to Learning Ware.
This organization sells computerized templates that allow you to use your own content to create a wide number of games in six familiar TV-style game show formats. You can also purchase ring-in devices. Contacting the company or visiting their website will also allow you to have an on-line demonstration before purchasing.
The “T” in LBGT. The Transgender Americans: A Handbook for Understanding aims to help readers become familiar with the range of issues faced by transgender Americans, from the complex process of getting an appropriate birth certificate, to family and parenting issues, to discrimination and hate violence.
back to top »Quotes to live by...
Robin Tyler, lesbian activist
If homosexuality is a disease, let's all call in sick to work: "Hello. Can't work today, still queer."
bell hooks, Author, Intellect
There's no doubt in my mind that any person who attempts to live openly as a gay person in this culture encounters the fierce assault of homophobia. But what we should know from the situation of gay people of all colours and black people of all sexual preferences is that simply being a victim does not radicalize your consciousness.
Abigail Van Buren, “Dear Abby” columnist
“You could move.” In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood."
Tennessee Williams, playwright (1911-1983)
What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains. - A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947.
Jon Stewart, comedian, satirist, actor, author
Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a faggot?"
Charles Pierce, actor, comedian (1926-1999)
I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother.
Ernest J. Gaines, writer
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?
Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, British politician
It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's like disapproving of rain.
Rita Mae Brown, writer and social activist
No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only queer people are those who don't love anybody. From a speech given August 28, 1982
Alfred Kinsey, biologist (1894-1956)
Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeon-holes. The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects. The sooner we learn this concerning sexual behavior the sooner we shall reach a sound understanding of the realities of sex. - Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, 1948
Martina Navratilova, former World No. 1 women's tennis champion
Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.
Anaïs Nin, French author (1903-1977)
There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
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Reel Reviews
Story telling is a time-honored way of learning about other peoples’ lives and experiences. Film is one of the easiest ways to tell stories. We hope you Enjoy this month's selections:
Brother to Brother (US/2004) This feature length narrative film follows the journey of a young Black gay artist as he discovers the hidden legacies of the gay and lesbian subcultures within the Harlem Renaissance. Thrown out of his house by his family and forced to survive on his own for being gay, he struggles to hold on by working in a homeless shelter and trying to maintain his scholarship at Columbia University. As the story progresses, we witness a transformation through his passion for art and storytelling.
The Celluloid Closet (US 1995) A classic film this was an important and much-needed film. In a medium in which gays have almost always been represented insultingly, this film provides an opportunity to identify with and learn from the history of their portrayal. But regardless of your SO, The Celluloid Closet is a superbly meaningful and effective documentary.
Red Doors (US/2005) A poetic, feel-good film about the ups and downs of a Chinese-American family. Set in New York, this narrative follows three sisters navigating relationships within their dysfunctional family. The ambitious businesswoman Samantha is all set to get married, the middle sibling Julie falls in love with an actress and the youngest is Katie tries ot get the attention of the boy of her dreams. Red doors protect a home and those who live in it and thus in this engaging film filled with dark humor, Georgia Lee brilliantly captures the struggles and hope of these eccentric characters.
A Beautiful Thing (Great Britain) This story of two teenager's coming of age in a working-class development in London is an inspiring, tender, emotional tale. Jamie is a reserved teen, close to his pub manager mom, who prefers old Hollywood musicals to sports. His friendship with his hunky neighbor Ste, a fellow student who suffers through a troubled family life, soon develops into a sexual and eventually a loving relationship. How the two boys tentatively handle their nascent sexual drives and how it affects their family and friends is handled in both a fresh and surprisingly upbeat fashion. A wonderful comedy-drama and possibly the best coming out film to date.
If These Walls Could Talk 2 (US 2000) This sequel to the 1996 original is just as powerful, poignant and hard-hitting. Where the original Walls dealt with three women each struggling with unwanted pregnancy, the sequel takes a private look at the lives of three lesbian couples during three very different time periods in America: the 60s, 70s and the new millennium. The common link is the house of the title: they all occupy it at one time or another.
Fire (Canada/India/1997) one of the many countries that still limits the freedoms of women, comes this original and emotionally charged drama about the forbidden love between two women. The newly wed Sita is a young and beautiful woman who comes to live with her husband's brother and his wife Rahda in New Dehli. Restless and independent, she realizes that her arranged-marriage husband is far from faithful. Sita quickly finds her new world stifling. The older Rahda, on the other hand, offers the face of complacency, all the while holding within her rage and loneliness. Within this volatile atmosphere the two women strike up a natural friendship which leads to a sensual but secretive romance.
Transamerica Stanley is a perfectly adjusted, conservative trans-sexual who's about to take the final step to becoming Bree, the woman he always wanted to be -- until he finds out that he is the parent of a long-lost 17 year old son. Afraid to tell the rebellious teenager the truth, he embarks on a journey with him that will challenge and change both their lives.
back to top »The Book Nook
The focus of this quarter's newsletter is sexual orientation (SO). There is a wide range of books available that can be useful to specific populations in exploring SO. They include:
A Family and Friend's Guide to Sexual Orientation by Bob Powers. While this book is expensive ($125 in Hardback, new), it is well-written and easy to ready. It uses many personal stories, which allows the reader to identify with the experiences lesbians and gays experience. It provides helpful suggestions for how friends and family can be most supportive.
Sexual Orientation and School Policy: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Administrators, and Community Activists by Ian K. Macguillivray. Using a school district as a case study, the author relates how a “safe school” setting was created for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered (GLBT) students. Of specific note is the author's handling of the conflict for conservatives between wanting schools to be safe for all students while not wanting schools to promote homosexuality. For anyone working in school settings and wanting to create a safe environment for GLBT students, this is a worthy read.
Between Gay and Straight: Understanding Friendship Across Sexual Orientation by Lisa M. Tillmann-Healy. Beginning as a class project to interview someone, this book tells the story of the developing friendship between a straight woman and gay man. As the story progresses, the author experiences the gay community, identifies the differences between the straight and gay communities, and builds a friendship across the differences. This is a compelling read for anyone who has, or wants to develop, friendships across SO differences.
Sexual Orientation in the Workplace: Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals & Heterosexuals Working Together by Amy J. Zukerman and George F. Simons. This small paperback book is a valuable resource for managers who want to understand the experiences of non-heterosexuals in the work environment. It is particularly helpful in designing training programs because it has both information and a number of suggested experiential activities for helping managers and-coworkers understand how to create a more inclusive environment for non-heterosexuals.
And, finally, a novel:
Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. This book opens with a line that captured me as a reader—and the engagement continued until the end of the book—which came far too soon: "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." The story of a hermaphrodite born into a Greek-American family captivates the entire range of human emotions, and does so in words that often left me breathless. The author gives us two stories: the history of an immigrant family with all of its secrets, struggles, and joys; and the story of Cal/Callie. The voices of Cal and Callie each give us a different, although blended, view of how sex roles shape us and of the confusion that can occur when those roles are suddenly switched. (Donna Stringer)
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Feedback & Referrals
We have designed this newsletter to share information with our friends and colleagues. We would like to hear from you about what you have found useful, in addition to, referrals of anyone you feel might benefit from receiving this newsletter or our services. Please e-mail us with any comments or ideas to tbianchi@executivediversity.com
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