Yahoo’s new CEO is a pregnant woman, Chick-fil-A doesn’t support gay marriage, and the Boy Scouts aren’t budging on permitting openly homosexual scouts. On July 25th, amid a wash of articles and op-ed pieces hashing out these polemic headlines, the Wall Street Journal published an article exploring the presence of gay senior executives in corporate America and how this exclusive corporate faction has remained insulated from an increasingly visible social group – or at least it appears that way. According to the article, which cites information provided by the Human Rights Campaign, there is not currently a single openly gay CEO in the Fortune 1000 and U.S. companies can still legally fire a worker for being gay in 29 states. The article delves into the barriers and anxieties facing gay higher-ups in the business world and how traditional corporate structure may stymie the acceptance of a group which, among the general public, has become an increasingly visible and potent American demographic.
According to the 2012 Corporate Equality Index – also produced by the Human Rights Campaign – as of 2011, 86% of Fortune 500 companies include “sexual orientation” and 50% include “gender identity” in their non-discrimination policies. Additionally, of these companies 60% offer equivalent medical benefits between spouses and partners and 19% offer transgender-including health care benefits, including surgical procedures. As not adhering to evolving industry norms has the potential to directly affect shareholder value, we believe shareholders should carefully monitor the board’s policies regarding these issues.
Interestingly, our Senior ESG analyst Courteney Keatinge has been crunching some numbers for our annual Proxy Season Review and has found that during the 2012 proxy season, every shareholder proposal seeking the adoption of a formal Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Anti-Bias Policy presented for a second consecutive year saw increased shareholder support over the prior year. The numbers indicate that shareholders are increasingly in favor of a stated corporate policy protecting workers who choose to openly express their gender and sexual identity – policies which, naturally, would extend all the way up to the named executive officers. As shareholders find increasing value in the protection of gender and sexual identity expression for their fellow employee stakeholders, maybe the executive demographic will take note, and find itself undergoing its own transformation.
As Chick-fil-A is finding out, opposition to such policies can have high-profile consequences. E! Online reports that even Jim Henson’s Muppets are now boycotting the fast food chain following its public stance against gay marriage. The two companies had recently partnered to offer five customizable puppet toys for Chick-fil-A’s children’s meals.