Human Rights Campaign Issues New LGBT Consumer Guide

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT gay rights organization, has released a guide that evaluated American businesses based on their treatment of LGBT employees.

The "Buying for Workplace Equality 2012" sorts businesses and their consumer products into red, yellow, and green categories based on their score on HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, "a nationally recognized benchmark of LGBT inclusion."

"The holiday buying season is upon us and this year we again have the chance to send a message to businesses that we are watching," said HRC President Joe Solmonese in a statement.

"Fair-minded consumers who care about how a company treats their LGBT employees have a powerful tool in the Buying for Workplace Equality Guide. In this economy, when every dollar counts, it is particularly important for companies to see that LGBT inclusion is good for the bottom line."

According to research by Witeck-Combs Communications and Marketresearch.com, the LGBT community will spend nearly $800 billion this year, the HRC reports. In addition, the research also shows that members of the LGBT community are aware about businesses' inclusive polices and are "fiercely loyal to those companies who support LGBT workplace equality."

"This is our community's chance to vote with our dollars and send America's businesses a clear message that equal treatment of LGBT employees is good for the bottom line. Especially in today's economy, equality is good business," Solmonese said.

Companies that scored in the green category received the highest workplace equality scores (between 80 and 100). Businesses that fell into the yellow category received a moderate workplace score (between 79 and 46) and have taken steps toward equality in the workplace. Companies that scored between 45 and 0 were placed in the red category and had the lowest equality scores.

A number of popular companies scored high on the "Buying for Workplace Equality" guide, while their competitors fell in the red category. Nike, for example, received a score of 100 and the Adidas/Reebok brand only scored a 15, putting them in the red category. The clothing store department Nordstrom also earned a perfect 100, however, Neiman Marcus was put in the red category as well for only scoring a 15.

HRC has been publishing the guide for seven years and can be viewed at www.hrc.org/resources/entry/buyers-guide..