Gay is the new black

Some, though not all, of my African-American friends will no doubt object to the title and argument of this blog post. And certainly lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered Americans have not had to endure the systematic, organized violence that was directed at the civil rights protest marchers in the 1960s. Nonetheless, I cannot help but note the similar trajectories of the movements for African-American and LGBT equality in public accommodations, private relations and the workplace.

On the one hand, Loving v. Virginia; on the other, gay marriage. Back then, the Civil Rights Act of 1964; today, the end of "don't ask, don't tell" and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

So maybe the parallel is not quite exact. After all, gay marriage remains illegal in most of the country, and the ENDA has yet to be passed, 27 years after it was first introduced in Congress. But it just may be that, by the time it does pass, it will be irrelevant, for many businesses already make nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation their official policy.

They do so because it benefits their bottom line and allows them to attract the best talent at hiring time. A recent article in Workforce Management notes that most of the Fortune 500 already have rules forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation on their books, and many are also adding gender identity to the list.

As Rick Moran, executive sponsor of Cisco Systems' gay and transgender employee network, told Workforce Management: "We know that when we're going out recruiting, a lot of employees, especially our younger employees, are looking for what our policies are on inclusion and diversity. So, we are pretty forward with that. We also know that a lot of our customers have very strong diversity practices, as well. They often come to us and ask what our inclusion and diversity policy is, so it's very important from a business perspective."

The article also notes that a recent survey of 1,400 gay business managers conducted by the research firm Community Marketing revealed that 70% of those surveyed would choose a gayfriendly vendor over a rival when making purchasing decisions.

In other words, smart companies are responding to the demands of their customers and their potential workforce, and finding that they do better in the marketplace as a result.

The changes in attitude are by no means universal or universally accepted. In more culturally conservative regions of the country, companies can still face protests if they are found to be too tolerant of LGBT people, as the Home Depot did once news of its support of LGBT events reached the American Family Association.

But just as the younger generation is more accepting of diversity of all kinds than its predecessors were, society as a whole is moving in the same direction. And this time, businesses are leading the way towards greater acceptance.

By Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for BusinessWorkForce.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Nexxt. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on BusinessWorkForceBlog.com.