Here's How Businesses Can Be True LGBTQ Allies | Opinion

We are in a fraught and dangerous time for LGBTQ rights, with a record number of anti-LGBTQ state laws, as well as terrifying increases in hate crimes, violence, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Extremists, emboldened by a regressive agenda, are attacking the progress we have made toward a more inclusive society in well-coordinated, well-funded campaigns. Business allies have not been immune from these attacks, as anti-LGBTQ organizations, politicians, and influencers are threatening censorship, boycotts and even legislative retaliation. Even the most foundational element of LGBTQ business engagement—workplace inclusion efforts—is being attacked and litigated as part of a broader attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) itself.

Despite these challenges, business allies must not abandon their work in support of their LGTBQ employees and customers. The business case and the values-driven case for practicing meaningful allyship is simply too strong.

The workforce is increasingly out and allied with the LGBTQ community, and as younger, more inclusive generations fill the workforce, they bring with them expectations that their employers reflect their values of inclusion and belonging. The number of self-identified LGBTQ consumers and their allies is rising, too, and with them, the potential for brand loyalty to companies that live out their values. Given that the LGBTQ community represents $1.46 trillion in global purchasing power, corporate brand and reputation on LGBTQ issues is fast becoming a business imperative.

The rising tide of support for LGBTQ rights (eight in 10 Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people), coupled with changing expectations of what corporate citizenship means, translates into an expectation that corporations will live out their stated allyship to the LGBTQ community.

Business allies and corporate partners are making strides in the struggle for equality, but there remains a distance between allyship that checks boxes and authentic allyship that impacts lives and livelihoods—hindering the realization of a truly inclusive world. It's what we at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) call the "Ally Gap."

To help businesses—of all shapes, sizes, and disciplines—close the gap between authentic allyship and surface-level solidarity, we are thrilled to launch our inaugural corporate citizenship report, The LGBTQ+ Corporate Citizen: A Framework for Emerging Best Practices in Allyship. This first-of-its-kind report goes beyond foundational workplace inclusion, urging companies to examine their operations, policies, and practices through an action-focused lens. It builds on more than 20 years of HRC working with corporate America to advance LGBTQ inclusion and has six key pillars: workforce, supply chain, products & services, marketing, corporate philanthropy, and advocacy and political engagement. Each pillar is tailored toward addressing the discrepancy that sometimes exists between what a brand may "say" and what a brand may "do."

The corporate citizenship report acknowledges that LGBTQ allyship is a journey—and one that is never finished. It recognizes the gap between saying that a business is an ally and taking meaningful, specific actions to demonstrate that support.

Allyship is a whole-of-business concept, taking into consideration what companies do internally as well as how they use their power, influence, budgets, and business activities for good. It asks companies to engage not just DEI and HR professionals but to enlist leadership across all business operations. It means directing supply chain managers to actively seek out LGTBQ suppliers, and product designers to research and create products that specifically meet the needs of LGBTQ consumers. This applies to businesses big and small. Start-up SYRO sells feminine style shoes in larger sizes and NiK Kacy sells smaller sized masculine style dress shoes—without gendering products.

The report also challenges brand marketing executives not just to integrate LGTBQ storytelling in their campaigns, but to have a zero-tolerance policy for baseless hate attacks. It provides guidance to government affairs professionals on how they can involve employees in advocacy efforts aligned with the values of LGBTQ equality.

This report is not just needed, it's timely. The expectations for business leaders are unequivocal. More than half (53 percent) of Americans expect CEOs to shape conversations and policy debates about LGBTQ rights.

Research shows that most people, especially LGBTQ workers, Gen Z, and Millennials, seek employers that are committed to expanding and protecting LGBTQ rights. Workers are 4.5 times more likely to choose a company publicly committed to equality.

In short, genuine allyship not only attracts and retains top talent but also fosters an inclusive culture that creates a sense of belonging and fuels innovation and success.

At HRC, we understand that in this often difficult and fast-changing environment, there is no one formula for how corporations can make meaningful contributions. That's why our corporate citizenship report is not a scorecard, but a powerful compass with a wide range of promising practices so that every business can find inspiration for closing the ally gap and creating a future where every individual is celebrated, respected, and protected.

The time for half-hearted support and symbolic gestures is behind us. With an increasingly out and allied workforce, businesses face strong expectations to take action. This report serves as a rallying cry for companies to activate their full potential, using their influence, resources, and platforms to bridge the ally gap and create a world where everyone can be their authentic selves, without exception.

Kelley Robinson is president of the Human Rights Campaign, America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.