Anti-LGBT laws push corporations to forefront of equality fight

Corporate America isa term that doesn't oftencarry an especiallypositive connotation.

But big businesses some with a new breed of CEOat their helmsareproving to be apotent force in combating a wave of state legislation threatening the rights of LGBTpeopleacross the U.S.

"I think at this moment in time, the business community has the most political capital, has the most weight behind it," said Deena Fidas of the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights advocacy group,in an interview with CBC'sThe Current.

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Nowhere is this more evident than in North Carolina,where late last month the state legislaturepassed a deeply tendentious law that has backfired spectacularly.

ThePublic Facilities Privacy & Security Act, or House Bill 2, forces transgender people in any state building, including public schools, to use bathrooms aligned with the biological sex noted on their birth certificate.

On Tuesday,North CarolinaGov. PatMcCroryissued an executive order rolling back some of the provisions and allowing state agencies to "make reasonable accommodations upon a person's request due to special circumstances."

The order also states that local governments canmake their ownnon-discrimination employment policies an attempt towalk back some of the original provisions restricting the rights ofcities and counties to enact their own anti-discriminationlaws.

The local branch of the American Civil Liberties Unioncalled McCrory's order"a poor effort to save face"and said it will proceed with the lawsuit it filed challenging House Bill 2.

'Bathroom laws' exist in severalstates

So-called bathroom laws, as well as anti-gay "refusal of service" laws, have been introduced or passed in more than 20 states since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last summer thatthe constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, more than 130 businesses have now publicly called for North Carolina to repeal its bill. The effort started with an open letter from the group toMcCrory, which was signed by 80 CEOs from across the business spectrum.

Among the corporations that have joined the campaign arethe financial titan Bank of America, with more than 15,000 employees in the state, and American Airlines, which has a hub in Charlotte and employs thousands of people there.

Some companies went further than just voicing opposition.Paypalbailed on plans to build a $3.6-million US operations centre that brought 400 jobs with it. Deutsche Bank announced this week it is freezing plans to expand its North Carolina operations.

'CEO activism'

It's difficult to quantify the total cost to the state of such actions, but simply put, the law is bad for business because "the reputational damage can be very real," says Timothy Werner, an assistant professor at the McCombs School of Business at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.

"The biggest hit will come from businesses already in North Carolina that decide not to expand any further in the state, and also among young people and immigrants who may choose to avoid living and working there," he said.

The recent tensions comeat a time when CEOsof some very identifiable brandsare taking vocal public stands against socially regressive policies a trend that Maurice Schweitzercalls the "rise in CEO activism."

"Even just years ago, their job was generally just to steer the company. There was no meddling in the politics of social issues. But now, that's actually part of the brands themselves,"said Schweitzer, a professor atUniversity of Pennsylvania'sWhartonbusiness school.

Pressure from businesshas played a part inbattleslike North Carolina'sin other socially conservativestates such as Georgia, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Arizona.

"For a lot of these CEOs," said Fidas, "LGBTQ issues are no longer some abstract social issue. They have faces;they have voices. They're neighbours;they're colleagues."

Of course, these are still businesses, and bottom lines matter. But in the case of anti-LGBTmeasures,there is little for corporations to lose by taking a stand. A majority of the U.S. public saytheysupportmarriage equality and protection from discrimination for LGBTpeoplein and outside the workplace.

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Werner also points out that the progressive policies of somecorporations haveoutpaced those of state and federal governments, and in some cases outpaced public attitudes on the social issues at the heart of those policies.

As of 2014, for example, 91 per cent of Fortune 500 companies had given employees protections on the basis of sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy. Nearly 61 per cent offered protections on the basis of gender identity.

"It's really a relatively low-cost issue for business to engage on," he said.

But corporate protest hasn't been entirely successful in shaping public policy.In July, Mississippi's version of a "bathroomlaw" that targets transgender people will take effect. It will alsoallowfoster parents to forceLGBTyouth to undergo so-called conversion therapy.

And the governor of Tennessee is expected to sign two separate bills in the coming days, both of which have been called discriminatory, despite criticism from industrialgiants like Dow Chemical and HP.

The right side of history

North Carolina has also been defiant. McCrory, a Republican, said earlier the state"has been the target of a vicious, nationwide smear campaign."

He's running for re-election in the fall.

Early last year, McCrory came under fire from within his own party after he vetoed a bill that would have allowed some court officials to refuse to marrygay couples in the state. Both houses of the state's General Assemblyvoted to override the veto.

House Bill 2which Schweitzer calls an appeal to "reactionary forces" within the Tar Heel state who have struggled to adapt to a "rapid period of social change"was introduced, deliberated, passed and signed in less than 12 hours last month.

There is little chance the bill will be repealed before the election.

Schweitzersays a string of "messy lawsuits" challenging anti-LGBT measureswillmake their way through the courts over the coming months.

But the corporations that have spoken out against North Carolina's law and others like it have found themselves "on the right side," of this particular issue,according to Schweitzer.

"Both in terms of their brand, and history."