Since the Tennessee battle
appears to be over, DiversityInc
asked the HRC where the next
battlegrounds are. The HRC’s
response:
MINNESOTA The Minnesota House
passed a proposal to place a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage
on the 2012 ballot.
INDIANA Indiana lawmakers
approved a proposed amendment
to the state constitution that would
define marriage as between one
man and one woman and would
prohibit the state from enacting
civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. The
proposed amendment will be on
2014 ballots if legislators once
again approve the proposal in the
2013–2014 legislative session.
NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina
has an anti-LGBT marriage amendment that has been introduced in
both the state house and senate (SB
106/HB777) that could prohibit all
forms of legal relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples.
TEXAS The Texas State Senate
is considering legislation that
would prevent district clerks from
Richard Proust and his partner of 30 years, Donald Corren, march during the Gay Pride Parade.
accepting a court order recognizing a sex change as a legal document for a
marriage license. The House passed a budget bill containing a provision requiring public universities with a student center on “alternative sexuality,” i.e.,
an LGBT center, to provide equal funding to create new centers to promote
“traditional values.”
Here are some diversity-management
resources DiversityInc Top 50 companies
have to help them in this battle:
; SUPPORT FROM THE TOP
All of the DiversityInc Top 50 CEOs ensure diversity is included in the
corporate mission statement; 96 percent of them have quotes on the value of
diversity from the CEOs on their homepage.
Look for our webinar on DiversityIncBestPractices.com on CEO commitment
and DiversityInc Top 50 best practices, featuring our No. 1 and No. 2 companies,
Kaiser Permanente and Sodexo.
120 DiversityInc Protest against the passage of Proposition 8 banning gay marriage.
; CLEAR AND CONSISTENT MESSAGING
All have antidiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation; 96
percent have antidiscrimination policies that include gender identity. All
employees should be informed about these policies and repercussions for
failing to adhere to them.
For information on diversity training, visit www.DiversityIncBestPractices.com/training.
; USE OF EMPLOYEE-RESOURCE GROUPS
All of the DiversityInc Top 50 have LGBT (and ally) resource groups, up
from 63 percent five years ago. These groups are valuable conduits to the
community and keep leaders aware of legislative and other external concerns. Ninety percent of DiversityInc Top 50 CEOs meet regularly with ERG
leaders.
For information on employee-resource groups, visit
www.DiversityIncBestPractices.com/employee-resource-groups and also see our
webinar on DiversityIncBestPractices.com on employee-resource groups,
featuring Aetna and MasterCard.
Photos: Top, Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters; bottom, Shutterstock
Read our coverage of the anti-LGBT-rights law promoted by the Tennessee
Chamber of Commerce at
www.DiversityInc.com/lgbt-rights
