Posted on 06/27/2005 6:48:08 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
CHICAGO - Carlos Saavedra came out to a colleague soon after he started working at Quaker Foods four years ago, reassured by seeing gay and lesbian employees climbing the ladder at the Chicago company.
"You can bring your whole self to work rather than seeming isolated and distant because you can't talk about what you do outside work," said the 25-year-old assistant marketing manager.
The groundwork for his positive experience was laid by more than 30 years of activism to persuade big corporations like Quaker's parent PepsiCo Inc. that promoting a gay- friendly workplace is good business.
Now many large companies are coming under increasing pressure from religious conservatives who want to reverse the trend, forcing employers to watch their step when supporting conduct that some consider immoral.
The clash surfaced most recently when the Mississippi- based American Family Association launched an e-mail and call-in campaign against Kraft Food Co. and Harris Bank for sponsoring the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago, a quadrennial sporting event to showcase athleticism and promote pride.
"If we're not 'out,' they're going to run us over," said John Parro, vice president of U.S. real estate at Harris Bank, referring to groups like American Family. "The value of being out is taking advantage of these opportunities to stand up and educate everyone," he said.
Parro and Saavedra were among 40 bankers, accountants, lawyers, marketers and managers who gathered in early June at Exelon Corp.'s downtown headquarters to talk about what it means to be "out" at work.
The session was part of a month-long series during June, which is Gay and Lesbian Pride month. The events are sponsored by 11 large Chicago employers that offer affinity groups to support their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
Parro is executive sponsor for Harris' group, Lion's Pride.
"Harris is facing tremendous pushback (for its Gay Games sponsorship) and is taking a strong stand," he told the session. "It's because we haven't stayed under the radar. What effects change is taking a stand and being yourself."
Corporate America has proved fertile ground for gay activists, and for good reason. Employers feel a need to court this important demographic group both as customers and employees.
More than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their anti- discrimination policies, even though federal law does not protect against such discrimination and only 16 states make this type of discrimination illegal.
Yet the growing visibility and political clout of groups that condemn homosexuality is triggering new worries for companies that promote acceptance.
Diversity consultants say many employers are struggling with how to handle the conflict between employees' right to be "out" at work and their right to express religious beliefs that censure homosexuality.
The gay movement's most basic workplace victory - policies banning discrimination based on sexual preference - presents a problem for the American Family Association.
"Those policies attempt to get people thinking of sexual orientation as being the same as other immutable characteristics like race," said AFA spokesman Ed Vitagliano.
The real flash point, he said, is when corporate diversity programs tell all employees "there's nothing immoral about homosexuality and that it's the same as age and race and you need to keep your (contrary) beliefs to yourself."
Gay and lesbian professionals at the Exelon meeting recounted largely positive experiences about coming out.
Robbin Burr, an American Airlines employee for 25 years before she switched careers last year, lived as a married heterosexual before changing her life and coming out at age 40.
She was a founding member of a marketing team at American that targeted the gay community and co-chaired the company's affinity group for gay and lesbian employees.
"I no longer was just Robbin," she said. "I was suddenly 'Robbin the lesbian' and that felt really odd."
Some colleagues distanced themselves, recalled Burr, now executive director for a gay and lesbian community center, CenterOnHalsted.
But as she grew more comfortable with herself, her colleagues also relaxed, she said. "It was no big deal to them because it's no big deal to me."
Larry Passo, a vice president and branch manager at Harris Bank, was approaching 50 when he came out four years ago to head an initiative targeting affluent gay and lesbian customers.
"It's important not to apologize" for who you are, he told the group. "At first they treat you a little as if you're the pet dog. You know, you're a lot of fun, you like music and you like to have your hair done.
"(But) if you're doing a good job at work, they respect you," he said.
Quaker's Saavedra said coming out at work is not a one- time event. "Every person you meet that doesn't know you, you have to come out to," he said in an interview.
The first person he told at work was the former chair of EQUALQuaker, the company's affinity group. Now he chairs that group as well as its umbrella organization, EQUALPepsiCo.
"I saw not only would it not hinder me, but my efforts (with EQUAL) could help develop leadership skills that make me better at my job," he said.
PLEASE! Enough already. No one wants to know!
Why do such a small percentage of mentally ill pervs have such a loud voice?
"Yet the growing visibility and political clout of groups that condemn homosexuality is triggering new worries for companies that promote acceptance."
Good!
Just had the "Gay Pride" parade in NYC this past weekend.
It was the usual assortment of freaks and fetishists decked out to highlight and promote their particular sexual perversion.
I really wonder about that statement without any stats to back it up. The huge cost of health care for very unhealthy behavior, the loss of business from not like minded thinking people, the higher turnover rates - etc.
No, please. I don't want to know OR become educated. I am not homophobic nor do I practice gay-hate crimes in life, but I don't NEED to know about your "lifestyle". Keep it to yourself and we'll both be much happier.
Why do these people think I need to know about their private live's anyway? I don't discriminate against them, belittle them or treat them any differently than anyone else at work ... I only want one thing from them, keep your private life private!
And why they think that's going to make people accept them remains a mystery to me.
Of course. They don't take maternity leave, or leave to pick up the kids at school. In many ways, they're the ideal drones.
"You can bring your whole self to work..."
Yeah, so can you talk during your coffee hour about the nice young man you met at the gym and later sodomized at your apartment.
Re-written:
"Yeah, so can you talk during your coffee hour about the nice young man you met in the restroom and later sodomized at the rest-stop."
oh for the love of mike, they are only 2% (if that) of the population..
I love how these CEOs and executives think it's great to have cross-dressers and flaming homosexuals running around the workplace. BUT, they will NEVER have of these freaks in high positions of power reporting to them.
So, it's okay to have the low to mid-level employees work alongside these freaks, just as long as they don't have to deal with them.
The basic problem in my mind is why sexuality is an issue in the work place to begin with. Whether straight, gay or beast, it just doesn't belong in the workplace in any manner.
I'd hate to go before St. Peter at the gates of heaven and say please let me in heaven. And St. Peter ask, have you killed anyone? Are you a homosexuel? Do you mistreat children or puppies?
Not to worry. St Peter won't ask any of those things. The only issue will be whether or not you accepted the grace of Jesus Christ by faith.
"The basic problem in my mind is why sexuality is an issue in the work place to begin with."
Some would say it was we "uppity women" that paved the way for gays to follow us into the workplace.
But, I think the gay men and lesbians were in the workforce long before everyday women started storming the castle, after the NOW Hags told us we'd better! It just wasn't made public, and those "nice young men and women" were referred to as "Bachelors" and, of course, "Old Maids" and kept to themselves in their little apartments with their cats. ;)
Many Workplaces Are Gay-Friendly
Yeah, that was forced down out throats durng the thought police Clinton years..accept them or else.
Is having sex all this guy does? When I'm sitting around chatting with others on break, we don't spend our time talking about our sex lives, especially in mixed company. Maybe that's key here, but if a gay starts talking about his sex life at work, the room will be empty in short order, and I'd be the first one out the door.
I used to work with a gay dude, but I never knew it until a female co-worker told me (she was amazed that I couldn't tell, but most men don't have the kind of "sixth sense" that women do). I didn't mind working with him, because we never discussed sex.
later pingout.
I wanna work someplace that celebrates religious diversity
That way I can astro-project my soul to work
And my lazy ass can stay home in bed watching TV
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.