The participation gap: how multinationals navigate pressure to stand for human rights of LGBTI people
In a US TV series titled “Handmaid’s tale”, gay, bisexual and trans, and queer people who did not manage to escape an autocratic Government in time, see their marriage licenses invalidated, themselves designated as “gender traitors” and eventually are sent to hard labor camps. While it is obviously pure entertainment, dystopian futuristic content on television can sometimes be a good indicator of our hidden fears: in this case, that the global progress of the past 25 years on LGBTI equality could be reversed.
Increasingly, opponents of LGBTI equality are positioning the issue as central to a so-called “cultural divide” opposing “hedonist” or “sentimentalist” values based on perceived desires or choices of LGBTI members of the community in favor of what they deem to be family and tradition values sometimes rooted in the premise of protecting children. Proponents, on the contrary, believe that the need for LGBTI acceptance is universal and urgent stemming directly from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thus, the global pursuit of LGBTI rights showcases a general struggle between cultural relativism and multilateralism.
This is one of the reasons why the upcoming battles for LGBTI equality might be harder to win as the conversation becomes increasingly polarized. First, many Governments that historically championed LGBTI equality, have made it clear that human rights are secondary to security and economic growth in their foreign policy agenda. And secondly, perhaps more alarming, the “cultural divide” narrative is being resuscitated in political discourse in places where the battle seemed previously over and won.
As a result, for multinationals, there are only a few other global issues as polarizing as the struggle for LGBTI rights in which they are pressured to position themselves by taking a side. The reasons for this intensity are an immense appetite for participation on the part of their stakeholders — particularly in the younger generations — but also the fact that, once liberated, LGBTI people and their numerous allies pop up everywhere as such stakeholders.
In the connected World, described by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms in their book “New Power”, employees, consumers and, to a lesser extent, shareholders are searching for ways to influence the World around them. More than fulfilling usual needs for consumption, wages or return, they are searching for community participation and a sense of agency which the democratic process is no longer responding to. This could be described as a “participation gap”. As illustrated in several recent cases involving consumer-facing brands, if these demands are not fulfilled companies face calls for boycott and employee revolts they cannot afford.
Today, companies, more than Governments, have become the instrument for culture change on LGBTI equality and while some continue to resist, others are attempting to fulfil their new role as human rights defenders. In doing so, they face incredible challenges such as knowing when to speak out, navigating the various legal environments or responding to suspicions of pink-washing by civil society.
An excellent example of multinational companies who are committed to LGBTI equality working together to create change and exercise influence occurred recently in Brazil in which a coalition was formed to issue a public statement upholding human rights. 32 corporations and non-governmental organizations that jointly employ more than 110,000 people in Brazil publicly reaffirmed their belief in and commitment towards diversity and inclusion in the workplace for all people in Brazil, including LGBT+ people.
Furthermore, much like “New Power” illustrates, corporate change can also be achieved with a far more grassroots approach. Today, we’re experiencing a swell of moments, turning into movements, because of organizing for a cause. Employee resource groups at multinational companies in the private sector are deeply connected to these movements and harness the power to invite the energy into the company and act on core values beyond its walls cultivating change in our world. This plays out by connecting employees around shared interests to encourage action and, using technology, surface community needs or concerns to executive leadership capable of making swift company adjustments or statements.
The United Nations clearly outlined last year, in a document titled the Global LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business what the minimum expectations are, reiterating the notion that “with the privilege of making profits comes great responsibility” including protecting humans rights. While the Standards acknowledge the extremely challenging situation global companies find themselves in and the fact that they cannot be expected to do everything everywhere, it indicates clearly that companies have human rights responsibilities in every situation especially when the topic relates to how their employees live and operate in the world free of persecution. The Standards to date have received the support from 215 companies globally including some of the biggest names in each industry.
Yet such Standards are only a guide and do not address all the questions from companies who wish to engage in protecting the human rights of their LGBTI employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders. Ultimately, to establish needed change, cross the “cultural divide,” and harness the new power emerging in today’s world, multinationals will need to find or create forums with a mix of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), government teams, and NGOs in which they can exchange best practices, agree on a stance or message, and proceed collectively leveraging their combined power and influence that creates a whole greater than the sum of their parts.
Join me next week in Geneva for the Business and Human Rights Forum at a session Accountability and building trust on corporate engagement on rights of LGBTI people on Tuesday, November 27 at 1:30pm — 2:45pm in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room (Room XX).