Conservative social and political groups are vowing to fight the recent California ruling in which a republican-dominated court declared that sexual preference should not bar couples from legal marriage. In an Associated Press article, the court opinion is quoted as stating that "domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough."

In pursuance of equal footing, gay, lesbian, and bisexual investors have been seeking and "outing" corporations with gay-friendly policies and have been backing those companies in a show of financial clout. An example of the application of this forward social dynamic would be Trillium Asset Management, which has at least once scored a "perfect 10" on the Gay and Lesbian Values Index (glvindex). With an investment focus called Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), this company seeks to provide investment returns in keeping with industry standards, while at the same time maintaining "unique focus on social research and advocacy."

Corporations that have taken careful strides to bring their standards up to date with regard to societal equality appear to be gaining in popularity with gay and gay-friendly investors, as evidenced by their placement on and recognition of the glvindex. SC Johnson acknowledged it's high ranking on the glvindex in a company press release that stated in part: "To us, diversity is about building the best, most talented workforce that mirrors the marketplace, and motivating them with an environment that enables people to be themselves and contribute freely and effectively."

Continue reading Gay investors support gay-friendly corporations

Gay investors support gay-friendly corporations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 May 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PlanetOut (NASDAQ: LGBT)'s short history as a public company has been nothing short of a miserable failure. After going public at $10 per share in late 2004, the company's stock will, barring bad news, hit a new 52-week high sometime around October 1. The problem is that that will only be because of a 1-10 reverse split announced today. The stock is currently trading at $1.42.

PlanetOut is a media company focused exclusively on the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered market, with such notable properties as The Advocate, Out, Gay.com, and RSVP Vacations. The company took on far too much debt to build its empire, and shareholders recently found themselves badly diluted when the company had to raise money through a private placement with investors including a hedge fund controlled by Bill Gates.

But don't worry too much. The company's insiders have still gotten rich, even if they've wiped out somewhere around $150 million of shareholder value. The insider transactions (very few lately... mostly when the stock was trading over $8 per share) tell the story.

Given the demographic trends that should be so favorable for an LGBT media company, there's only really one explanation for such weak performance: mismanagement. The company's CEO, Karen Magee, said as much on a recent conference call. And no, she won't be returning any of the money she's made.

But everything will be OK. Even if they can't make the company profitable, PlanetOut's management can slice the pie in different ways to raise the share price. What PlanetOut needs is not a stock-split. It needs new management.

PlanetOut (LGBT) can't make it -- so it will fake it originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One step forward, two steps back. That seems to be the story of Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) efforts to spruce up its image. For every new environmental initiative, there's a Julie Roehm-type story. Now the latest bit of bad news: The Bentonville retailer has decided to stop donating money to gay and lesbian groups after conservative Christian groups threatened a boycott.

The company, which has a reputation for being conservative, has made an effort to reach out to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered) community of late, by joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, selling gay-themed jewelry, and other initiatives.

The company is quick to point out that it still supports its gay employees through the Wal-Mart Pride group, and will continue to support diversity initiatives: It just won't be donating money to outside gay groups.

Some gay and lesbian groups have accepted Wal-Mart's explanation, and understand the pressure that the right has put on the company. I would be a lot happier if Wal-Mart would stand up and say "We support many groups including some Christian groups, and we also support LGBT groups. Deal with it."

But more importantly, I would like to see Wal-Mart join the more than half of Fortune 500 companies providing health care benefits to the domestic partners of its LGBT employees. If they do that, I'll forgive them.

On another note, it's a sign of how far society has come that Wal-Mart was donating money to gay groups, and their continued initiatives to become more gay friendly are indicative of progress.

Wal-Mart stops donations to gay and lesbian groups originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading ExxonMobil: NOT a gay-friendly workplace

ExxonMobil: NOT a gay-friendly workplace originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.