Some of the
biggest employers in the United States are also among the
most gay-friendly
When Ed Mickens
was researching his book The 100 Best Companies for
Gay Men and Lesbians in the early ’90s,
domestic-partner benefits were a rarity. What a
difference a decade makes: When the Human Rights
Campaign released The State of the Workplace in early
September, it counted 2,856 private companies,
colleges and universities, and state and local
governments that offer domestic-partner health coverage.
HRC’s
report raises hopes that the ranks of gay-friendly companies
will continue to grow. It also raises the question,
What makes a workplace hospitable for lesbians and gay
men? “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered
people want to feel safe and valued,” says Brian
McNaught, a corporate consultant on gay employment
concerns and author of Gay Issues in the
Workplace. “You want to trust that you’re
going to be judged on the basis of your skills and
performance and no other factor.”
What follows is a
list of 25 companies that provide a good working
atmosphere for their gay employees. In choosing the list The
Advocate wanted to include both pioneers and newer
arrivals and to bring your attention to some companies
that have made progress even if there’s still
work to be done.
East Coast
American Express
BankBoston
Bell Atlantic
Ben
& Jerry’s Homemade
Chubb Corp.
Eastman Kodak Co.
Fannie
Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association)
IBM
Lucent Technologies
Mobil
Polaroid
Xerox
Midwest
Ford Motor Co.
The Limited
S.C. Johnson
Sara Lee
United Airlines
Southwest/Rockies
American Airlines
Quark Inc.
Texas Instruments
West Coast
Apple Computer
Charles Schwab
Intel
Levi
Strauss & Co.
The Walt
Disney Co.
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1