HRC Blog

General Mills Speaks Up for ENDA

June 13, 2012 by HRC staff

This post comes from Simone Walls, HRC’s Public Education & Outreach Coordinator:

You may not know that every ten seconds an American places a General Mills product in his or her bag. You also may not know General Mills has been an extraordinary partner in the goal of full LGBT workplace equality for years. Yesterday, the three-time 100 percent rated company on HRC’s CEI sat on a panel of four witnesses to testify before the Senate HELP Committee on the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). We couldn’t have been more proud.

Ken Charles, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, represented General Mills at Tuesday’s hearing, and spoke eloquently about how diversity and inclusion drive success at a company that has been in business for over 150 years. Employing 35,000 workers worldwide, Charles noted that if employees cannot bring their full selves to work, and if employees live in fear of being treated differently simply based on who they are, it comes at a cost to the company.

General Mills has had a non-discrimination policy inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity for years, sending a strong message that their LGBT employees are respected, valued, challenged, and rewarded for their contributions and performances. As a result, General Mills employees are productive and engaged.

We thank General Mills for their extraordinary support and partnership, and for going on record on behalf of our community today.