HRC's Equality Index

via Advocate, by Neal Broverman

The Human Rights Campaign released the 2012 Corporate Equality Index today and, thanks to a more stringent ranking criteria, 148 fewer companies received a 100% score than last year.

Though 10 of the top 20 Fortune-ranked companies received a 100% score on the index — which rates corporations on LGBT-inclusive policies — only 190 corporations in total received that ranking.

Last year, 338 businesses received a 100% ranking. The CEI now uses more rigorous criteria that takes into account corporate giving and health care coverage for transgender employees, alongside long-time factors like employment opportunity policies and equal employment benefits.

J.P. Morgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, Intuit, Kraft, Office Depot, Herman Miller, and Levi Strauss are some of the corporations who received a perfect score on this year's CEI.

Even with the decrease in 100% rankings, HRC says huge progress has still been made — only 13 businesses received a perfect score in 2002, the CEI's first year.

Many in-roads were made in 2011 for transgender employees — people can still be fired in 34 states simply for their gender identity (gay and bisexual people can be legally fired in 29 states).

The CEI found that 50% of Fortune 500 companies now have nondiscrimination policies covering gender identity — a growth rate of 1,567% from 2002.

Companies offering comprehensive health care coverage to their transgender workers increased to 207 from 85 last year and 49 in 2009.

Looking back at the start of the CEI shows huge advances when it comes to domestic partnership benefits — the number of Fortune 500 companies offering domestic partnership benefits increased 76% since 2002.

"Corporate America is leading the charge for equality in the workplace,” HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a press release. “We commend the businesses that participated in the CEI. They understand that LGBT-inclusive workplace policies are the right thing to do and good business practices." 

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Ins and Outs of Gay News Sites

via HuffPost Gay Voices, by David Badash

As gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans -- and their news -- become mainstream, will the gay news sites that have long supported the LGBT community be able to survive?

I spoke with nine different well-known LGBT publishers, writers, and industry insiders about the current state of gay media -- and if it has a future.

Towleroad partner and creator of Out magazine, Michael Goff, Pam's House Blend's Pam Spaulding, John Aravosis of AMERICAblog, the Vice President of the Human Rights Campaign, and many others share their unique perspective.

Is there a future for the gay news and politics sites and blogs that focus on and advocate for the LGBT community, or will we continue to see them consolidate -- or just disappear?

Why are so many gay news sites finding it so challenging to stay afloat? Are advertisers leery of being associated with distinctly gay sites? Is this niche just too "niche?"

"Whether corporate-run or a one person shop, the outlook for gay news blogs is that most of them are not turning a satisfying profit," writes Nikki Usher, at Harvard's own niche journalism site, Neiman Journalism Lab, in a recent article, "How niche is too niche? The case of gay news blogs."

Publishers of gay news sites talk about the issues Usher's piece raises: inconsistent advertising and few advertising network options, and lack of support from LGBT organizations.

While visits at many LGBT sites are growing, most journalists and bloggers work very hard to attract and keep each and every reader.


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7-year-old Malcolm Donates to the Gays

via Queerty

Splitting the $140 his mother gave him to donate to charities of his choice, seven-year-old Malcolm split the cash between the Human Rights Campaign and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, which promptly shared the little hero's story in a fundraising email. Explains Malcolm's mother: "To teach the importance of improving the world around him, Malcolm was given $140 to give away to the charity of his choice. After hearing a story on the radio about the mistreatment of gays and lesbians, Malcolm became both upset and curious about the issue…to help, he chose to split his money between the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation."

The Worst Companies For LGBT Workers: HRC's 2010 Ranking

The Human Rights Campaign, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobbying group and political action committee, recently released the findings from its 2010 Corporate Equality Index.

In what the organization says has become "the premier benchmark for businesses to gauge their success on LGBT inclusion against competitors," the annual survey assesses corporate treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees at hundreds of the largest and most successful American companies. The major criteria included in the evaluation include whether discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited and whether same-sex partners are eligible for health insurance benefits. The index also considers diversity training, in-house LGBT resource groups and company advertising and marketing campaigns.

Read the rest at HuffPo.

NYTimes: Obama to Address Gay Rights Organization Ahead of Equality March

President Obama will speak to a gathering of gay rights activists this weekend, a day before thousands of people are expected to march on Washington in a demonstration calling for greater legal protections for gays, lesbians and transgendered Americans.

Mr. Obama’s appearance on Saturday at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights advocacy group, represents a significant show of support for gay rights at a time when many prominent gay and lesbian activists have been questioning the president’s commitment to their issues.

Many gay rights activists have become increasingly vocal about their frustration over what they see as tepid support from Mr. Obama. While the president has professed support for overturning the ban on gays in the military and called the law that precludes federal recognition of same-sex marriages discriminatory, he has not engaged on gay rights issues as actively as some had hoped.

Read the rest at the New York Times.