Google has gone where no other fortune 500 companies have gone on supporting the issue of gay rights and same sex marriage. "LGBT Rights Are Human Rights" is proclaimed by Google's newest project, Legalize Love - an international campaign to promote safer conditions for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people inside and outside the office.
'We are proud to be recognized as a leader in LGBT inclusion efforts, but there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality. Legalize Love is our call to decriminalize homosexuality and eliminate homophobia around the world,' Google writes on its diversity page.
From Google diversity page.
Legalise Love: LGBT Rights Are Human Rights
Though our business and employees are located in offices around the world, our policies on non-discrimination are universal throughout Google. We are proud to be recognised as a leader in LGBT inclusion efforts—but there’s still a long way to go.
At Google, we encourage people to bring their whole selves to work. In our more than 70 offices around the world, we’re committed to cultivating a work environment where Googlers can be themselves and thrive. Legalise Love is our drive to ensure that all of our employees have the same inclusive experience outside of the office as they do at work.
Celebrating Pride
Google has a long history of support for Pride celebrations around the world. In 2011, over one thousand Googlers participated in Pride celebrations in a dozen cities to support equality.
To date in 2012, more than 1,500 Googlers have marched in Pride celebrations, including Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Tel Aviv and Warsaw. However, it’s not just through Pride that we show our support for the LGBT community. At Mardi Gras in Sydney, we hosted two Queer Thinking seminars on Activism in the Internet Age and Queer Careers.
And in July Gayglers from over a dozen counties celebrated at World Pride in London where they were joined by one million visitors from around the world.
Convening Thought Leaders
We’re always looking for ways to educate the broader community about LGBT rights and inclusion, through seminars, trainings and conferences hosted at Google. As part of the World Pride celebration in London this year, we brought 100 guests from LGBT advocacy groups, employee networks and diversity organisations to our office in London for the first ever Google Legalise Love Conference. Our goal was to start a debate about creating an inclusive workplace for LGBT employees around the world. Our guest speakers included Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty Human Rights, Peter Tatchell of The Peter Tatchell Foundation, and a panel of campaigners representing Europe, India, Africa and Asia.
In addition to the Google Legalise Love Conference
- In our Warsaw office, we hosted politician and LGBT activist Krystian Legierski for an office-wide talk and discussion lunch on the importance of civil partnership laws.
- We sponsored the production of Stonewall’s latest Workplace Guide Global Working: Supporting LGB Staff Overseas and hosted a seminar at our London office for Stonewall diversity champions, exploring how organisations use their global influence to promote better workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff around the world.
- At Google London, the Kaleidoscope Trust held a gathering of LGBT activists from over 40 countries to discuss a roadmap to achieve an inclusive British Commonwealth.
Giving Voice to Googlers
The Gayglers is Google’s employee network for LGBT employees, friends, and allies. Gayglers chapters exist just about everywhere Google operates around the world—from San Francisco to New York, London to Zurich, Israel and India.
As part of 2012 World Pride in London, 40 Gayglers leaders from Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America will attend our first Gayglers Summit for LGBT employees and straight allies.