America hasn’t made up its mind yet what to do about gay rights. Corporate America has. More than half of FORTUNE 500 companies offer domestic partner benefits. Many go much further in their support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees–lobbying their local legislators, for instance, on behalf of gay rights, or helping to support or start up gay-rights groups.
I’ve been working since late summer on a story about the gay rights revolution in corporate America, and it has (finally) been published. Nine pages in the Dec. 11 edition of the magazine. The headline is “Queer Inc. … How Corporate America Fell in Love with Gays and Lesbians. It’s a Movement.” (What do you think about the use of the word “queer” in the headline?) The photos are superb, and they’re not online, so the best way to get this story is to read it in print. It’s now online here. Please let me know what you think by commenting below.
I learned a lot reporting this story, met some great people, and came away with this thought–that this is one of those rare areas (the environment, in some respects, is another, although that’s more complicated) where big business is leading the rest of America in a progressive direction. As business becomes more gay-friendly, more people will come out at work. As more people come out, their co-workers will become more tolerant and empathetic. This will, gradually, change the political climate, as Joe Solmonese, who runs the Human Rights Campaign, told me when we spoke.
Lots more to say about this topic, and I’ll be posting links this week to a couple of Internet-only sidebars. One’s about how the gay rights movement is taking hold at Wal-Mart.
It seems a refreshing shift to the sad homophobic hate-mongering of the past few years after the attempt to create a “constititutional” ammendment banning gay marriage. As the mother of an adult gay son, I have personally witnessed the pain and suffering caused by discrimination and gay bashing. Perhaps if big business understands this as a genuine civil rights issue, society might follow suit sooner than not. I read your “Queer, Inc” article and was heartened by the movement toward inclusive employment practices. If you had been writing about Starbucks or Google leading the way, I would have said, “Oh sure, that’s great.” When Walmart is initiating the change it can affect mid- America in a major way. To that I say, “Thank you, God. It is the beginning of a glimmer of light for an oppressed segment of our population.” Thanks to you Marc for bringing this important topic to national attention with your courageous article.
Queer, Inc. is a refreshing shift to the sad homophobic hate-mongering of the past few years after the attempt to create a “constititutional” ammendment banning gay marriage. As the mother of an adult gay son, I have personally witnessed the pain and suffering caused by discrimination and gay bashing. Perhaps if big business understands this as a genuine civil rights issue, society might follow suit sooner than not. I am heartened by the movement toward inclusive employment practices. When Walmart is initiating the change it can affect the heartland and mid- America in a major way. This is the beginning of a glimmer of light for an oppressed segment of our population. Thanks to you Marc for bringing this important topic to national attention with your courageous article.