HRC Holiday Gift Guide

[DapperButch]

I had no idea where to put this link and don't want to put it under the QueerBay section b/c I am hoping that more BFP planet people will put up their goods as MsDemeanor has done. I don't want to take away from that.

However, I use this as a guide when I do my shopping throughout the year, but I get an updated one around the Holidays in the mail. Thought that maybe some would be interested when they do their shopping this season.

http://www.hrc.org/buyersguide2010/index.htm

It is good to know that Home Deport has the highest ratings while Lowe's is at the bottom, for example.

Ratings are based on how gay/lesbian/trans people are treated in the workplace in terms of discrimination policies, domestic partner healthcare benefits, and the like.

Click on the list on the left for the type of item you may be looking for and they will give you ratings for various merchants.

[Julie]

Thank You so much Dapper. I had no idea this existed.
I am downloading the pdf now.

Julie

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by InfiniteFemme

Thank You so much Dapper. I had no idea this existed.
I am downloading the pdf now.

Julie

Cool! I hoped some folks would find it useful.

[betenoire]

Totally interesting list, Dapper. You're fabulous.

It's still a buyer beware situation, though. Nike, for example, may be all friendly with the homos and stuff IN NORTH AMERICA...but unless something has changed recently I've always been under the impression that they have appalling labour abuses overseas.

[Medusa]

A few things about this list:

#1. I have worked at 3 of the companies that are listed here and none of their ratings are in line with what I experienced as an employee or as a customer. One of the companies I worked for had domestic partnership insurance but only after jumping through ridiculous hoops and also had Transphobic insurance polices- They are currently rated 100.
2 other companies I worked for both have received low ratings and were SUPER LGBTQ friendly with great domestic partner bennies, and diversity policies.

#2. I don't care for "boycotting" (my words) a company based on who has a "red" rating on this list especially since the question mark (red) ratings are based on companies *not responding* to the survey. That is a "if a does not equal b, then b is bad" type of equation.
For instance, I'll use Lowe's as an example. Lowe's isnt actually rated "at the bottom" versus Home Depot. According to this list, Lowe's doesnt actually *have* a rating based on "not responding to the survey. Lowe's does offer domestic partner insurance and benefits and does also offer diversity training, so "blacklist" them? Not so much.

#3. I am also not a fan of companies receiving a higher rating based on donating money to the HRC. While I think it's great that many of them did, if a company like Apple chose to donate the bulk of their money to the National Center for Lesbian Rights versus the HRC, that doesnt mean they arent LGBT-friendly or deserve a "bad" rating. It's that whole "buying a vote" thing that bothers me.

I do think this list can serve as a good guide for folks but also suggest that people do their own, much deeper research about where to spend their money. I will say on a personal level that I haven't always supported 100% of the HRC's policies and feel that this list can be helpful but that it can also be misleading when the data is manipulated to make their donors look better.

My 2c.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Totally interesting list, Dapper. You're fabulous.

It's still a buyer beware situation, though. Nike, for example, may be all friendly with the homos and stuff IN NORTH AMERICA...but unless something has changed recently I've always been under the impression that they have appalling labour abuses overseas.

Good point, Ms. Brandy. One has to take into consideration all practices by a company.

So, what does today's hat look like? It's Sunday, ya know....

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Medusa

A few things about this list:

#1. I have worked at 3 of the companies that are listed here and none of their ratings are in line with what I experienced as an employee or as a customer. One of the companies I worked for had domestic partnership insurance but only after jumping through ridiculous hoops and also had Transphobic insurance polices- They are currently rated 100.
2 other companies I worked for both have received low ratings and were SUPER LGBTQ friendly with great domestic partner bennies, and diversity policies.

#2. I don't care for "boycotting" (my words) a company based on who has a "red" rating on this list especially since the question mark (red) ratings are based on companies *not responding* to the survey. That is a "if a does not equal b, then b is bad" type of equation.
For instance, I'll use Lowe's as an example. Lowe's isnt actually rated "at the bottom" versus Home Depot. According to this list, Lowe's doesnt actually *have* a rating based on "not responding to the survey. Lowe's does offer domestic partner insurance and benefits and does also offer diversity training, so "blacklist" them? Not so much.

#3. I am also not a fan of companies receiving a higher rating based on donating money to the HRC. While I think it's great that many of them did, if a company like Apple chose to donate the bulk of their money to the National Center for Lesbian Rights versus the HRC, that doesnt mean they arent LGBT-friendly or deserve a "bad" rating. It's that whole "buying a vote" thing that bothers me.

I do think this list can serve as a good guide for folks but also suggest that people do their own, much deeper research about where to spend their money. I will say on a personal level that I haven't always supported 100% of the HRC's policies and feel that this list can be helpful but that it can also be misleading when the data is manipulated to make their donors look better.

My 2c.

Thanks for this information, Medusa. I am glad that you added this information to the thread.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Medusa

I do think this list can serve as a good guide for folks but also suggest that people do their own, much deeper research about where to spend their money.

Like I was just saying to Dapper elsewhere, for sure if nothing else and at the very least it does give people a better idea of what to look for and what questions to ask.

I know for myself, I don't shop at any stores that are famous for being evil. Walmart, for example, does not get my money. In looking at this list I see that Meijer got a lower rating than Walmart did - and I buy all sorts of stuff at Meijer. The reason I started buying my soap, toothpaste, coffee, etc at Meijer is because they are not Walmart. So this list served as a good reminder to me that there -are- companies who are evil who don't enjoy (or disenjoy?) the notoriety that Walmart has.

Will I take the list at it's word? No, probably not. But it certainly has encouraged me to look into a few things a little more deeply.

And piggybacking on what I said earlier - a company courting the LGBTIQ community isn't necessarily a good enough reason to throw our support behind them. Smart companies court the Queers. In a lot of cases (especially with gay men) that's where a great deal of money can be made - so they aren't always nice to us for the right reasons. A good way to tell the difference between a company who treats us nice because it's the right thing to do and a company who treats us nice because it's the profitable thing to do - is to look at how they treat other populations.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by betenoire

.... A good way to tell the difference between a company who treats us nice because it's the right thing to do and a company who treats us nice because it's the profitable thing to do - is to look at how they treat other populations.

Really great point I hadn't thought of before.