1981 NGTF Corporate Survey Released

The National Gay Task Force (NGTF) has reissued and revised its 1979 publication of The NGTF Corporate Survey. Recognizing the importance of employment concerns among gay people, NGTF undertook its corporate survey project in 1976. Its aim was to encourage major American corporations to adopt non-discrimination policies based on sexual orientation. Between 1976 and 1981 NGTF surveyed over 850 firms: the "Fortune 500" (the top 500 American industrial corporations) as well as over 300 leading non-industrial firms involved in areas such as finance, insurance, retail sales, etc.

The survey was not intended to engender guarantees of job security for gay people or to force employers to develop legal guidelines on the subject. To date, 238 companies have responded to the survey. Most of them answering with statements that indicated an awareness that sexual orientation is a private issue unrelated to an employees ability to perform a job. None of the respondents stated that they do discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

The sizes of the responding corporations varied as widely as did the nature of their responses. While certain industries appeared less willing than others to adopt positive statements, virtually every sector of the economy was represented in the responses received. What is most evident is that the largest firms are taking the lead in this area. For example, all of the top ten corporations on the "Fortune 500" responded positively; further, 51%

all "Fortune 500" firms. Thus nearly six million of the nine million employees of "Fortune 500" corporations are currently covered by sexual orientation non-discrimination statements.

At one major industrial firm, the policy is succinct: "(Name of Company) does not discriminate on the

basis of sexual orientation. Such orientation or preference is not an appropriate area of inquiry by an employer. It has been and continues to be the company's policy to fill its job requirements by selecting from the available labor force those applicants best qualified to performthe work and not to discriminate against applicants or employees on any basis other than their capacity to satisfactorily perform the work available."

An NGTF spokesperson says most of the policy statements received are "similarly direct and to the point." But NGTF suspects that few of these statements ever leave corporate headquarters or are included in policy manuals distributed to supervisors throughout all levels of the company. Charles F. Brydon, co-executive director of NGIF says, "It's terribly important that employees of a company know about such a policy and know that it has the backing of top management.”

Of particular interest is the category of responses and how they were ranked in importance. The responses and rankings are as follows:

1. Companies in this category have stated specifically that they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. In some cases it is

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clear that firms have disseminated their policies in company publications such as personel manuals, company newsletters, etc.

2. These companies have stated that they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation unless it interferes with job performance, disrupts other employees, or adversely affects the company.

3. These companies have stated that they hire and promote employees solely on the basis of their ability to do the job; they do not make specific mention of sexual orientation.

4. These companies have stated that they are not aware of (or do they inquire about) their employee's sexual orientation. They do not specifically discuss what their response would be if an employee's sexual orientation should come to their attention.

5. These companies have stated that they obey all laws that apply in employment and personnel matters. However, they do not express a willingness to establish policy against discrimination in those localities where there is no such legal protection for gay employees.

6. These companies either did not address the issue directly or did not provide enough information for categorization above.

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those companies in the Northern Ohio area that responded to the NGTF Corporate Survey and how they were categorized. The numbers following each entry refer to the category of response as shown above.

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Corp. I

American Airlines 5 Amrican Can Company 2 American Cyanamid Co. 2 American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (Parent of Ohio Bell)

1

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. I

ARA Services, Inc. I

Becton Dickenson & Co. 5

Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. 5

Control Data Corp. I Eaton Corp. 3

Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. 1 Ford Motor Co. 3

General Electric Co. I

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 3 Greyhound Corp. 2

Hanna Mining Co. I Hoover Co. 1

McDonald's Corp. 3

3M Company 3

National Broadcating Co., Inc.

.1

J.C. Penney Co., Inc. I

Republic Steel Corp. 3

SCM Corp. 1 TRW, Inc. I

Union Carbide Corp. 1 NGTF advises there are several things a gay employee can do to get an anti-discrimination policy implemented where s/he works but that it partly depends on how open an individual is on their sexual orientation at work. They advise finding out if your firm already has a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. If you are the open type, suggest that management disseminate this information. If the employer does not have a policy, let management know the difficulties that such a situation can create. If you are not the open type, they suggest you send a copy of the survey to the senior management in your firm anonymously and see what kind of a response is generated. In both cases NGTF says it is important for the management of a company to know that the interest in this issue originates from employees rather than from outside the company.

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