As Sunday's
Gay Pride Parade approaches, coming out is becoming very in -- especially
in executive offices.
While President Bush adds fuel to the political firestorm that is
same-sex marriage, the most successful members of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered
community -- LGBT for short -- are stepping up and out, taking a stand
for their equal rights.
Standing alongside the LGBT execs are an unprecedented number of corporations
embracing "inclusion" in their human resources departments
through nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation and
gender identity, domestic partner health insurance benefits, and other
policies relevant to gays and lesbians.
During June, Gay Pride month, eight companies with large employment
in Chicago -- Accenture, Bank One, CNA, Deloitte, Exelon, Harris Bank,
LaSalle Bank and Quaker Oats -- are co-sponsoring a series of events
promoting inclusive work environments. Their partner in the venture
is the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, an LGBT activist group.
Employers' adoption of gay-friendly personnel policies have been snowballing
recently, a trend that is expected to continue as a growing number
of cities begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
More persuasive to U.S. corporations than any legislation or politics
is the market power of the LGBT consumer. Adding to the pressure is
the well-established niche carved by LGBT people in a global culture
fed by music, television, film and other media streams.
Chicago corporations aren't waiting to see who wins the legislative
fight. The HRC Foundation created a Corporate Equality Index and ranked
32 businesses in Chicago on employer benefit trends related to the
LGBT community.
Quaker Oats parent PepsiCo understands the strength of the LGBT consumer
segment.
"It's our opportunity to be ahead of the game," said Pamela
Culpepper, director of organization capability and inclusion for Pepsi's
Quaker operation. "Our markets are consumer-based and changing.
I help people understand what inclusion means. We are not trying to
change people's values."
Wesley Combs, co-founder of Witeck-Combs Communications, said his
company's research has found that 15 million Americans above age 18
are gay, with a buying power of $481 billion annually. He also says
brand loyalty among the LGBT community is higher than among other
populations.
Inclusion is even a factor in new theories of economic development.
The 1990s "knowledge economy" is being displaced by the
"creative economy." In The Rise of the Creative Class, author
Richard Florida posits that creativity -- enabled by technology, talent
and tolerance -- fuels emerging economies. Florida coupled his research
with the just-released Gay & Lesbian Atlas by Gary Gates and Jason
Ost, which uses 2000 U.S. Census data on same-sex households. The
combined data found that cities with a strong LGBT community and high
tolerance are ripe for entrepreneurship. Chicago ranks No. 15 among
U.S. cities.
Combs said that is in large measure due to the LGBT community's strong
business networks and effective organizations that evolved as a matter
of survival.
"We are business people first, and LGBT people second,"
he said. That may explain why entrepreneurship is also popular among
LGBT people: They find it easier to work for themselves than at companies
with personnel policies that gays find stifling.
Bruce Dmytrow, vice president of CNA HealthPro, is gay and he is out.
He says he is comfortable at CNA, but understands why some execs might
not be at other companies.
"The LGBT community has a very big nucleus of individuals who
are willing to stand up for what they believe in, and make a statement
that we are no different than any other human being," he said.
"Why should being gay be different than if I were black, a woman
or any other culture?"
He said that when he encounters conflict, he focuses his support on
young people in the LGBT community.
"A lot of gay men and women have the skills and the leadership
to run Fortune 500 companies," he said. "More and more younger
people are feeling comfortable coming out, and being who they are.
But if the larger work force is not willing to embrace them, then
I am not sure that we will be doing the best job getting the best
people to work for our companies."
Employee resource groups provide support to colleagues who decide
to come out, such as by quietly placing a partner's photograph on
their credenza or using the rainbow motif in their workplace.
Dmytrow said, "We created a very informal (employee resource)
group called PLUS: People Like Us at CNA."
He credited PLUS with being instrumental in creating domestic partner
benefits at CNA in 1999, and the group provided a feedback system
into the upper echelon that allowed CNA to provide funding and other
kinds of support to the larger LGBT community in Chicago.
"You have to be willing to be a target, and many of us are willing
to be targets because we believe in what we feel, and we believe in
equality," he said. "You can get knocked down, but leaders
will always pick up. I bounce back frequently."
Sally Duros is an independent journalist and writer.