PepsiCo to Receive HRC Corporate Equality Award at HRC’s 2017 Greater NY Gala

Today, HRC announced that PepsiCo will receive the HRC Corporate Equality Award at the 2017 HRC Greater New York Gala on Saturday, February 11, 2017, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The award recognizes Pepsico’s exceptional commitment to equality for the LGBTQ community.

“PepsiCo is a longtime leader in LGBTQ workplace equality,” said Deena Fidas, director of the HRC Workplace Equality Program. “Through inclusive corporate policies and practices that embrace the strength of diversity, PepsiCo continues to demonstrate a steadfast commitment to supporting its LGBTQ employees. We are thrilled to recognize PepsiCo’s outstanding leadership with the HRC Corporate Equality Award.”

PepsiCo has consistently earned a perfect score of 100 for several years on the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) – the national benchmarking tool on corporate LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices. PepsiCo is a long-term supporter of LGBTQ equality, and the company is also an inaugural member of the groundbreaking Business Coalition for the Equality Act – a group of leading U.S. employers supporting federal legislation that would provide clear, consistent protections for LGBTQ people by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, access to public places, federal funding, credit, education, and jury service.  Executives from PepsiCo have also used their public platforms to speak out against deeply discriminatory anti-LGBT state laws, including in Mississippi and North Carolina.

“At PepsiCo, we are guided by a basic principle: when we respect one another and embrace the uniqueness that each of us brings to the table, we succeed,” said Tony West, executive vice president, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and executive sponsor of EQUAL, PepsiCo’s LGBTQ employee resource group. “Our persistent effort is to foster an environment where people can not only come to work and have a rewarding professional life, but also see their personal values reflected in the workplace they’ve chosen. Supporting our LGBTQ associates is an important part of our overall commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

“On behalf of the HRC Greater New York Gala Committee, we are excited to award PepsiCo the 2017 Corporate Equality Award,” said Lauren Verrusio, co-chair of the HRC Greater New York Gala. “Time after time, PepsiCo continues to prove their commitment to their LGBTQ employees and an inclusive and diverse workplace. The company’s support of federal legislation that would provide commonsense, non-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community is also further evidence of that commitment.”  

The Greater New York Gala is one of HRC’s most prestigious events of the year, attracting more than 1,000 of the organization’s most active leaders, supporters, and members. The event regularly draws political officials from federal, state, and local governments, as well as celebrity entertainers and leaders in the business community. To purchase tickets for the #HRCGreaterNY gala, learn more about the event, ways to volunteer, and more, please visit www.HRCGreaterNY.org

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

www.hrc.org/blog/pepsico-to-receive-hrc-corporate-equality-award-at-hrcs-2017-greater-ny-gal?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Joins With Nation’s Leading Pediatric Organizations on New Guide Supporting Transgender Youth

Today, HRC Foundation joined with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP), which together represent more than 66,000 pediatricians and pediatric specialists across the country, to release Supporting and Caring for Transgender Children, a new guide for community members and allies to ensure that transgender young people are affirmed, respected, and able to thrive.

The resource comes at a time of unprecedented attention on transgender identities and during a national dialogue on the inclusion and rights of transgender students and youth. Recently, transgender young people have too frequently found themselves targeted by hurtful and mean-spirited debate, particularly following the passage of North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law.

Supporting and Caring for Transgender Children explains what it means for children to be transgender, why medical experts embrace a “gender-affirming” approach, and how community members can support transgender children, young people and their families. Transgender advocate Jazz Jennings, an HRC Foundation Youth Ambassador, and her family tell their story in the new resource, which also includes quotes from parents Wayne Maines, Ofelia Barba Navarro, and Peter Tchoyrk. In creating the guide, HRC partnered with physicians and mental health professionals who have worked extensively with transgender children.

“While our country continues its national conversation around transgender equality, we must never forget that at the center of this dialogue are real children fighting to be seen, valued and respected,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research, and Trainings. “This new guide provides parents and clinicians alike with vital information in their ongoing pursuit of doing right by all young people.  Our partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians reinforces the overwhelming medical consensus that respecting and affirming transgender young people is not only necessary, but also potentially lifesaving.”

As co-authors of Supporting and Caring for Transgender Children, the AAP and ACOP are continuing their longstanding commitment to the care and wellbeing of transgender children. In addition to its support of the resource, the AAP is developing a policy statement on caring for transgender youth that it plans to publish next year.  

“We know more than ever before about what transgender children need to grow up safe and healthy, and a large part of that is being accepted, nurtured and supported in their gender identity by their family, physicians and community,” said Karen Remley, MD, MBA, MPH, FAAP, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the AAP. “We hope this new guide will become a useful tool for anyone who has a transgender child in their life.”

“The ACOP is excited to be a part of this guide providing pediatricians, other primary care physicians, allied health staffs, patients, families and caretakers with this vital information for transgender youth.  We suggest all efforts ensuring transgender young people be respected and valued,” said Carl R. Backes, DO, FACOP, ACOP President

The guide comes in advance of the launch of HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality, a groundbreaking, nationwide council of parent-advocates working to educate the country on the lives and needs of their transgender children. Last year, HRC released the Moms for Transgender Equality video series featuring moms from across the country telling their families’ stories.  More recently, HRC unveiled the follow up series, Dads for Transgender Equality.  AAP president Benard Dreyer penned a letter urging his colleagues to support their transgender patients, and a group of pediatric gender experts spoke out against stigmatizing laws and policies in a moving HRC video.

To learn more about HRC’s work on transgender equality, visit www.hrc.org/transgender.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-joins-with-nations-pediatric-organizations-on-new-guide?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

These Are the Rad Women You Need to Know Now

The new book Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History spells out who the heroines are.

www.advocate.com/women/2016/9/29/these-are-rad-women-you-need-know-now

Sex Workers Speak: What Our Work Means

Ever wondered what goes through a sex worker’s head when they make money each day? Find out from several LGBT women who lived, or currently live, the life. 

www.advocate.com/love-and-sex/2016/9/29/sex-workers-speak-what-our-work-means

How to Make Sure LGBT Issues Come Up in the Next Debates

Amanda Kerri offers some suggestions, like sneaking diuretics into the candidates’ water.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/9/29/how-make-sure-lgbt-issues-come-next-debates

Trans Vets Deserve Surgery Benefits

It’s time the VA paid for gender-confirmation surgery for trans servicemembers who need it, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois argues.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/9/29/trans-vets-deserve-surgery-benefits