In what has become a historic year for the advancement of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights in the U.S., Microsoft has continued its role as a major advocate for equality.
Most recently this support has manifested itself in Microsoft joining 277 other business to fill a friend-of-the court or amicus brief calling for the United States Supreme Court to strike down DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, enacted in 1996, Microsoft has continued to put its weight behind repeal efforts since first joining 70 other companies in filing an amicus brief opposing DOMA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, sitting in Boston in November 2011.
Internally, Microsoft has continued to be a leader in championing workplace rights of LGBT employees, earning the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2013 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) “Best Places to Work” rating for the 8th year in a row. The annual CEI report rates large U.S. employers and their policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. Businesses rated 100 percent are recognized as “Best Places to Work.” In mid-March two Microsoft New England employees, Matt Feczko, Program Manager on the Docs team, and Dana Zircher, Principal Developer Lead, also on the Docs team, traveled to New York to receive the award on behalf of Microsoft. The pictures below show them at the awards ceremony.
Commenting on the award, Dana Zircher, co-policy director for GLEAM’s Board of Directors noted that, “in this historic year for the LGBT community, we’re proud that Microsoft has put itself on the map by taking a strong stance by supporting its LGBT employees.”
Microsoft’s support for equality has a long history. GLEAM, which represents the LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Allies) community at Microsoft, is currently celebrating its 20th year. Founded as an employee resource group, GLEAM works to drive LGBT-friendly changes both inside and outside of the workplace, participating as a representative to the employee diversity advisory council, the organization dedicated to supporting Microsoft in setting and achieving goals promoting diversity in the workplace.
Closer to home, Microsoft is also proud to support LGBT causes in the greater Boston area. As champion of GLEAM New England, Matt Feczko helps to run the organization locally. He creates events at which LGBTQ employees and their allies can advocate for diversity. Matt is particularly excited about the 43rd Annual Boston Pride Parade on June 8th, a 2-mile march ending at a festival in Boston’s Government Center. We hope to see you there!
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