- WASHINGTON (AP) -- - More
large U.S. companies are providing better working conditions for their
gay and lesbian employees, according to a report released Monday by a gay
rights advocacy group.
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- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation reported workplace
improvements at about a third of the companies rated in the group's second
annual poll of large corporations.
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- Companies were scored on seven factors, including whether
they offered health insurance coverage to employees' same-sex partners
and whether they had non-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation
and gender identity.
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- Airlines, banking and financial services, high-tech and
equipment manufacturers and telecommunications businesses consistently
scored above average.
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- The report looked at 250 companies from the Fortune 500
and Forbes 200 lists. It gave perfect scores to 21 companies, up from 11
last year.
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- No company received a score of zero. Last year three
companies did.
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- The study found that 64 percent of Fortune 500 companies
include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. Seventy-one
percent of the companies surveyed advertised to the gay community, up from
61 percent in 2002.
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- "Corporate America has been leading the way around
equal treatment for gay and lesbian people for some time so it's not surprising
that we would continue to see improvement," said Kim I. Mills, the
group's education director.
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- Mills said that while "successful businesses are
increasingly recognizing that equality works," most companies can
do more.
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- Businesses lagging in policies that encourage fair treatment
include hotels, resorts and casinos; mail and freight delivery companies;
and retail and consumer products firms, the group said. Companies in these
industries generally rated below average.
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- Other factors the group looked at: whether companies
included sexual orientation in diversity training, whether they supported
a gay employee resources group, whether their marketing was respectful
and appropriate to sexual minorities, and whether they take corporate action
that undermines the goal of equal rights for gay workers.
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- http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0826gaycorps26.html
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