The lunatics over at WingNutDaily are bleating once again over the fact that the number of large corporations in the USA that are gay accepting and/or provide domestic partner benefits, etc., continues to grow steadily. The theocrats forget that companies are in business to MAKE MONEY and PROFITS for their shareholders as opposed to furthering a religious based jihad against GLBT citizens. Given the current economy, companies have all the more motivation to market to all market niches that contain potential purchasers/customers, including the GLBT community. While it is a common sense business approach, the wingnuts continue to get their panties in a wad over businesses doing what makes good business sense and in the process not treating GLBT citizens as garbage as the Christianists desire. Here are some highlights from the WND rant (Note how we are considered a "lifestyle" choice as opposed to merely being who God made us to be):*
Despite an economy languishing in high unemployment and low consumer confidence, more American companies are jumping on the bandwagon to provide support for homosexual and transgender employees. More than 300 firms have now received perfect 100 percent scores in this fall's Corporate Equality Index, produced annually by the Human Rights Campaign which ranks businesses on their "treatment" of employees who have chosen homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyles. The list, which saw a 20 percent increase this year in the number of perfect scores, includes newcomers such as theater giant AMC Entertainment, Costco, Delta Air Lines, Food Lion and General Mills.
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Interestingly, that attitude is from the same company whose head, casino mogul Steve Wynn, recently complained the left-leaning policies of President Obama are not just wrong, they're also dangerous. "They are trying to change the basic fabric of American life without preparation, homework or experience. And they're trying to intimidate everybody," Wynn told the Las Vegas Sun. Other well-known companies which are new to the perfect-score list this year include Alcoa, JetBlue Airways, LexisNexis, Monsanto, Pacific Life Insurance, Procter & Gamble and UnitedHealth Group. The report claims "impressive gains" in policies and protections across the board, but especially for transgender workers.
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In 2002, the year it was first published, the CEI noted just 5 percent of businesses banned discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The 2010 report shows that figure has increased exponentially, now standing at 72 percent. See this year's full list of companies scoring 100 percent.
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Slowly but surely, businesses are waking up to the fact that bigotry and intolerance are bad for the bottom line. Hopefully, our legislator will open their eyes and follow the lead of the leaders of the business community who are figuring out that religious based bigotry needs to be removed from the workplace. In the meanwhile, expect the shrillness of the homophobes and Christianists to intensify as they slide into the waste heap of history.
In 2002, the year it was first published, the CEI noted just 5 percent of businesses banned discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The 2010 report shows that figure has increased exponentially, now standing at 72 percent. See this year's full list of companies scoring 100 percent.
*
Slowly but surely, businesses are waking up to the fact that bigotry and intolerance are bad for the bottom line. Hopefully, our legislator will open their eyes and follow the lead of the leaders of the business community who are figuring out that religious based bigotry needs to be removed from the workplace. In the meanwhile, expect the shrillness of the homophobes and Christianists to intensify as they slide into the waste heap of history.
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