human rights and shopping

[chelidon]

I thought some of you might be interested in this...

-------
The holiday season is upon us, and as many of us head to the stores and the shopping malls, we'd like to give you a very tangible way to support equality with every dollar you spend.

The Human Rights Campaign's Buyer's Guide gives you the information you need to support companies that support equality. The guide utilizes the groundbreaking research and advocacy of the Human Rights Campaign's Workplace Project to give you the tools to effect corporate change in your everyday life.

Shopping at Banana Republic or L.L. Bean? Filling up the tank at Shell or Exxon? Fighting the mid-afternoon snacking urge with a Balance Bar or a Power Bar? Our buyer's guide will let you know which products and companies to support and which to avoid. Click here to download your complimentary buyer's guide before you begin your holiday shopping.

After you've downloaded your guide, please take a minute to tell at least 5 friends how they can support equality by flexing their own purchasing power. To let your friends know about the Human Rights Campaign's "Buying for Equality" buyer's guide, click here [EDIT: or post it to your LJ ;>]

We are proud to say that corporate America is leading the way to fairness and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in offices and boardrooms around the country. By offering domestic partner benefits and implementing inclusive anti-discrimination policies, workplaces are rapidly becoming a fairer place for all employees.

However, it is still legal in most states to fire a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employee for no other reason than who they are. Many companies still have a long way to go toward equality for all employees. You can help turn the tide by making informed decisions about the products you purchase and the companies you choose to support, especially during this busy shopping season.

Together, we can help effect real change in workplaces across the country.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
Human Rights Campaign President

Comments

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the post. Kind of late for me, though, since I have almost all my shopping done :D

One question: How would an employer find out someone's sexual orientation? If my boss asked me stuff like that, I'd turn them in for harassment.

[miriams-well.livejournal.com]

How would an employer find out someone's sexual orientation?

I hope Chelidon doesn't mind my jumping in here. I can think of a few ways. If you have a life partner of the same gender, just talking about daily life like people do will bring it up. Life events, like buying a house or raising children would bring it out.

Or, more to the point, things like when I put my partner on my health insurance when she was laid off (and had to fill out paperwork for the company declaring our relationship to do so) - I would only have been able to do that at a company with a non-discrimination policy, and being in a relationship that involved property, I would probably have turned down jobs that didn't offer that. (I was very fortunate in mine.)

The day to day work of partnership brings up a number of opportunities that I imagine straight couples don't need to think about too often, but queer couples can't really avoid. Having a company that makes that a non issue is SO important, for both parties. For me as an employees because I don't have to worry about it, and for my company because I can spend that energy I might otherwise devote to being in the closet doing something like, oh, working! ;-)

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

You said it. And, BTW, thanks for the manners, but always feel free to jump on in. As you may have noticed, thin skin is thankfully not often seen among my many faults ;>

[eeedge.livejournal.com]

Despite the fact that in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, glbt is part of the anti-discriminatory hiring statement, four years ago I was also able to get it explicitly written into the rules of the daycare where my daughter was stabled at the time.

My small contribution to a saner world.