The NSA, Reporter’s Questions and Summer Vacation
The National Security Agency, the U.S. government’s 40,000-strong family of cryptologists who guard American safety by deciphering secret codes that threaten the U.S., and protecting with codes vital American secrets, has made a commitment to create a safe and welcoming work environment that holds its own against those corporations that seek to court the gay market.
Yesterday, I spent the day working with the civilian and military leaders of NSA and found myself feeling not only completely at home but affirmed in my message of creating an environment in which openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees can thrive.
Though I had done my homework and felt very prepared for my assignment, I was confronted with my own fears and biases about a military-based secret government agency. The men and women who lead and work at NSA are as committed to diversity as any executives I have encountered in my 34 years of work in this field. Openly gay and lesbian civilian workers are protected by a non-discrimination policy.
In response to the two presentations that I made, one to the open workforce and one to senior managers, I received two long standing ovations, something that is very unusual for them and for me with a workplace talk. If I was a younger man, I would consider a career with the NSA, though they have to keep their lives secret from family members and friends, and I’ve had enough secrets in my life.
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In preparation for an interview with a reporter writing an article on corporations and their diversity initiatives on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, I was sent a list of nine questions to which I responded by Blackberry from the airport as I made my way to NSA. You may find the Q and A of interest.
Here are the questions:
1. Do experts think momentum may now increase for employers to do
more to provide same-sex couples the types of employee benefits available to
male-female married couples? How influential do experts think California
and to some extent New York might be in encouraging employers elsewhere to
adopt gay-friendly policies?
2. What are the options for employers seeking to make their workplaces
more gay friendly?
3. What’s the current status of employers’ efforts re GLBT employees?
4. How many companies now offer benefits to same sex couples?
5. What benefits are most important?
6. How many same-sex couples are covered by health insurance?
7. To what extent might the status of the economy and the availability
of workers affect employers’ willingness to do more than the minimum for
GLBT employees?
8. If employers do begin to become more gay-friendly, what could they
expect to gain from such action? Would it be good for retention and employee
relations to do more than the law may require for GLBT employees? Are there
other pluses that employers might be likely to derive from being more
accommodating to their gay employees?
9. How much of the attitude transformation in the workplace is the
employer’s responsibility? Where else in society does the responsibility lie
for better, more equitable treatment of GLBT employees?
Here are my responses:
1.) If you haven’t already done so, I suggest the you use your Internet search engine (Google) to locate the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. By exploring the criteria HRC established for judging a workplace to be safe and welcoming for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, you will get a good idea of what most people accept as benchmarks for “Best Practice.” Key to that are: a non-discrimination policy that covers sexual orientation and gender identity, domestic partner benefits, support for a gay Employee Resource Group (ERG) and corporate-wide education on the issues. After reviewing the criteria, check and see how many companies have a 100 percent rating. Most Fortune 500 companies have a non-discrimination policy on sexual orientation and provide domestic partner benefits.
I have been an advisor to HRC on workplace issues for many years. I feel strongly that they don’t emphasize education sufficiently. They give 5 points out of 100 to a company for providing diversity training, which is absurd when every diversity director in the world would agree that providing training on gay and transgender issues is the only reliable means of helping the corporate culture to catch up with the corporate goal of valuing diversity.
The ruling on gay marriage in California, as well as the discussions on gay marriage and civil unions that are taking place not only throughout the United States but also the world is helping to “normalize” the lives of gay and lesbian people. Ignorance (or lack of exposure) is the parent of fear and fear is the parent of hatred. Anyone who has been to a foreign country and not known the language understands that their possible discomfort with gay and transgender issues is because they “don’t know the language.” The California rulings and news of gay marriage in all of Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, etc. helps them gradually “learn the language,” and become more comfortable with the issues.
Another effect of such rulings and subsequent press reporting is that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees have much higher expectations of their employers. In the great search for talent, in which corporations globally are seeking to attract and retain the best and brightest employees, there is an understanding that young gay and straight people who attend a gay wedding or civil union on Saturday are not going to tolerate a hostile or unwelcoming environment for gay people on Monday. When asked “What did you do over the weekend, they want to be able to say “I went to a gay wedding” without worrying about what kind of a response they’ll get.
2.) Companies need to ensure that their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees feel welcome and valued for the unique contributions they can make. To communicate their goals of attracting and retaining the best and brightest gay and transgender employees they need to effectively advertise their commitment to valuing all diversity and get their house in order. To achieve the first goal, corporations need to promote their values in their documents/policies, advertise them on their Web site and in all targeted advertising, actively participate in college career days and gay business fairs, encourage the participation of their gay and transgender employees in public events, such as Pride marches, and financially support gay community events. In their own house, corporations need to effectively communicate their diversity policies, make clear what behaviors are unacceptable, evaluate managers by their proactive efforts to create a safe and productive workplace, and enable their gay and transgender ERG to partner with them in participating in their goals.
3.) Corporations across the spectrum and across the globe are working hard at establishing themselves as workplaces that value diversity. I’ve been working with senior executives throughout the world (US, Canada, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo) for over twenty years, helping them to be more effective in their efforts to create a welcoming work environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
4.) Check with HRC on DP benefits.
5.) Health care and relocation benefits are essential especially for a global corporation.
6.) Check with HRC and Lambda Legal Defense Fund in NYC regarding the number of couples covered. Remember that gay DP benefits count as taxable income and that to secure them you have to come out and prove that you are in a relationship.
7.) There is always a war for talent. The current challenging economic conditions have not impacted the number of requests I get for training. I’m trying with difficulty to cut back on my road trips.
8.) Besides attracting and retaining the best and brightest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees, companies that work hard to create a positive public image are better positioned to attract the estimated billions of dollars of expendable income represented by the product-loyal gay community. It is no coincidence that the overwhelming majority of my clients are financial institutions.
They know that it makes good business sense to be seen as gay-friendly.
9.) While gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees are invaluable resources to a company that seeks to become more confident and competent in addressing gay and transgender issues, the Executive Committee should lead the way in these efforts. All levels of senior leadership should be involved, from production and research to marketing and the law department. Many companies today have their efforts initiated by the directors of diversity and human resources but to be successful sponsorship should be embraced by the CEO, COO, and CFO.
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For the sake of my relationship with Ray and for my own need to recharge, I’m taking a summer vacation from writing my blogs and making corporate presentations. I plan to swim, boat, fish, and work in the garden. Enjoy your time too. See you in September.
