Shareholders Ask P&G to Protect LGBT Employees from State-Promoted Discrimination
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2016
Shareholders Ask P&G to Protect LGBT Employees from State-Promoted Discrimination
CINCINNATI, OH — At the Procter & Gamble (P&G) annual shareholder meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 11th, stockholders will ask P&G how it plans to defend the company’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) employees and their families against discrimination and harassment that is encouraged or enabled by new legislation in several states in the U.S., such as North Carolina’s infamous “bathroom bill.”
In recent months, several “religious freedom bills” have been introduced or passed in parts of the United States which actively discriminate against LGBT individuals and families, putting P&G’s employees, as well as their partners and children, at risk of violence and discrimination, according to an SEC filing submitted by NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., a Boston-based socially responsible investment firm that sponsored the shareholder proposal on this issue. “We believe that there is real risk to the company if P&G fails to consider the impact that loss of housing, public accommodation, and the accompanying public harassment and humiliation will have on long term, dedicated and trained LGBT employees,” said Julie Goodridge, CEO of NorthStar Asset Management, Inc (“NorthStar”).
NorthStar filed a similar resolution at FedEx Corporation earlier this year, which received enough support from shareholders at the FedEx annual meeting in September 2016 to continue to engage with the company and other shareholders on how these discriminatory laws may impact company brand name.
P&G has a broad EEO policy that includes protections for employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the company has a positive reputation for its commitment to its LGBT employees. “In 2004, P&G stood up against the discriminatory Cincinnati city ordinance Article 12, and the company continued its public support of LGBT rights when it publicly supporting same-sex marriage, so clearly P&G has a robust history of promoting LGBT rights,” explained Mari Schwartzer, NorthStar’s Coordinator of Shareholder Activism. She continued, “Accordingly, NorthStar believes that P&G has a duty to speak out against these discriminatory state policies.”
“The reality is that if employees and their families are suddenly at risk in their communities, their ability to perform at work will suffer,” said Goodridge. “What if marrying your partner of two decades results in loss of housing? Is P&G prepared to relocate harassed employees to states where the laws are less discriminatory? This type of legislation can have a huge impact on morale and the bottom line. We believe companies need to have a plan in place for addressing these issues.”
Reaction to North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (“HB 2”) passed last March was swift. In April, PayPal abandoned plans to open a facility in Charlotte because the law “bars local governments from extending civil rights protections to gay and transgender people.” Apple and Microsoft joined other major U.S. companies in signing a statement opposed to “anti-LGBT” legislation. At least 160 CEOs and business leaders have signed a letter organized by the Human Rights Campaign urging Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the “radical provisions in the deeply discriminatory law that was rammed through the legislature.” In the letter, signatories stated that “HB 2 will make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit and retain the nation’s best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the country.”
P&G has yet to take a public stance on the discrimination implicit in these laws.
NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., based in Boston, is a wealth management company with a focus on socially responsible investing.
Contact: Julie Goodridge
NorthStar Asset Management, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
617-522-2635, 617-435-2279 mobile
