HRC Blog

LGBT-Inclusion is “Gold Standard” for Minnesota Corporate Leadership

October 16, 2012 by Maureen McCarty, Online Content and Marketing Manager

While this November Minnesotans will vote on a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage, many corporate leaders in the state long ago found LGBT inclusive policies to make pragmatic business sense, according to Lee Schafer.

As companies continue to compete to recruit and retain the best employees and influence consumer choices, CEI ratings have redefined the norm for how all companies treat LGBT workers and their families.

“It's not a complicated business issue, as any company that wants to succeed in the marketplace will embrace as many potential customers as it can and draw its talent from as large a pool as possible,” Lee Schafer wrote an article for the Star Tribune.

The CEI provides a yearly in-depth analysis and rate of large U.S. employees and their LGBT-inclusive policies and practices, as well as gauging corporate trends and best practices. Last year, 189 corporations across the country scored a 100 percent score on the survey.

Though LGBT-inclusive policies in the workplace do not directly translate to a “no” vote on the marriage amendment in Minnesota, workplace equality has helped bolstered public acceptance of issues important to LGBT Americans.

Learn more about HRC’s Corporate Equality Index here.