I just reviewed the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for 2008. This is an interesting guidepost dedicated to rating the true practices of LGBT equality in the corporate world. It is a great read, all 70 pages of it. It is most interesting to note that it began in 2002 and has grown from identifying only 13 employers who reached the 100 percent rating, to now a huge 195 employers who are rated 100 percent, with a large number nipping at the heals of that 100 percent! WOW! It really was quite encouraging and surprising. I decided to dive deeper and take a close-up look at a familiar consumer brand category – travel – and see what I could find. Here are the results:
I investigated a few of the top-rated organizations within the Hotels, Air, and Transportation categories. I wanted to see how easy it was for me, as an LGBT consumer, to find out their stance and communications on their LGBT employee policies and what their LGBT advertising looks like.
Let’s start with the Air travel category, where I reviewed American Airlines and U.S. Airways. Both were the only two airlines to be rated 100 percent on the CEI. In a search on their Web sites, American Airlines has clearly stated their policies on equality for employees. However, when I went to U.S. Airways Web site I could not locate anything related to their corporate stance on LGBT policies. And alas, I could find no advertising for U.S. Airways. American Airlines does a really great job of advertising their LGBT travel services. In the January 15th print issue of The Advocate, I was impressed to see www.aa.com/rainbow for LGBT travel information, and a Rainbow TEAAM who provides LGBT travel news and updates online via a newsletter or e-mail. How user friendly does that sound? I am intrigued (and may be signing up tonight!)
Now to the Transportation/Travel category. You’d think this would be a huge listing but, in fact, it is 10 companies who really did not fit into any other category. Only one was rated 100 percent. I was surprised! In exploring this further, I found that Travelport, Inc. is the owner of Orbitz.com. The Travelport, Inc. Web site discussed their commitment to diversity and their diversity policies, while Orbitz.com had nothing that I could locate. That was disappointing. At least their advertising is highly engaging for LGBT consumers, including information found at www.orbitz.com/lgbt.
Finally, we come to the Hotels category. What a surprise, seven hotels, resorts, or casinos received a 100 rating! I selected two I was familiar with: Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Both have great reputations and service, so I could not wait to peek under the covers! Starwood includes some high-end hotels, such as Le Meridien, St. Regis, and W, among other brands. I was pleasantly surprised to find their “diversity and inclusion” policy so easy to find – front and center on their corporate site. Additionally, we see their advertising frequently in LGBT publications. Well done on their part. Last, but not least, we come to Kimpton Hotels. What an incredible brand for the LGBT market. I quickly located on their Web site (under “Kimpton Programs”) their full array of LGBT information. It was quite surprising. It included a ‘Welcome to the LGBT Community,” a “Photo Gallery” of LGBT customers from their Hotel Monaco in San Francisco, a “Supporting the LGBT Community” section on how and where Kimpton Hotels shows their support, and a “Raves” section with LGBT testimonials. This, coupled with their fun and out there advertising campaign, titled “We’re Out To Know You Better” featuring clearly happy LGBT couples, makes me continue to be one of their biggest fans! Great communications in a smart, fresh, and targeted fashion makes Kimpton Hotels feel like the real deal to me.
That was a quick run through of some consumer brands doing things well, and not so well. They all share the award of being recognized as a leader in workplace inclusion for the LGBT market, and I honor that. With the increasing growth in corporations taking LGBT equality in the workplace seriously, I am encouraged and expect to see exciting marketing and communications programs that resonate with the LGBT consumer. I’d love to know your thoughts. Have you checked out the HRC Corporate Equality Index?
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