A coalition to convince ExxonMobil to provide protections and benefits to its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees was launched Oct. 7 at the Out & Equal Leadership Summit in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, Ky.
The Coalition to Promote Equality at Exxon Mobil consolidates the independent efforts of seven groups that have been employing a variety of means to convince the giant oil company to include sexual orientation and gender identity in its written non-discrimination policy and to provide domestic partnership benefits for its employees. ExxonMobil has repeatedly thwarted efforts by employees to establish the protections and benefits, which were available to employees at Mobil until its merger with the larger Exxon corporation in 1999.
The 11th annual Out & Equal Leadership Summit drew more than 300 workplace advocates to a variety of workshops and panel discussions. At the conference, Procter & Gamble, one of the largest employers in the Cincinnati area, made its first public announcement of the inclusion of domestic partnership in its employee benefits package.
See www.outandequal.org.