As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to address the extent to which members of the LGBTQ community are protected from discrimination by employers, BNY Mellon has added its signature to an amicus brief to the court in full support of the view that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, when properly understood, protects LGBT employees.
“BNY Mellon is a longtime advocate of equal rights for all our employees and in society as a whole. We recognize that LGBT+ people around the world currently lack many of the same basic protections available to others, making them vulnerable to discrimination in a way that can destabilize households and force people to live in fear and to be unable to be their authentic selves in the workplace. We have a moral obligation to take a stand,” Charles W. Scharf, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a note to all employees.
We are joining with other companies to encourage the court to do the right thing and find that discrimination on the basis on sexual orientation and gender identity are illegal under Title VII.
BNY Mellon has been a leading, long-time supporter of the LGBT community at the local, national and global levels. Examples of our advocacy:
- Signed on to the U.N. LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people) Standards of Conduct for Business, which tackle discrimination and violence against the LGBT+ community and encourage faster global progress toward equality.
- Joined hundreds of companies in signing a business statement supporting transgender equality. The statement was organized by approximately 15 community organizations working for LGBT+ equality and includes companies from a broad range of industries including financial services, consumer products and technology.
- Joined a coalition of financial institutions in a landmark Hong Kong LGBT+ case, resulting in the Court of Appeals ruling in favor of a lesbian expatriate who had been denied a spousal visa. BNY Mellon also signed a joint statement calling for the introduction of legislation against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Hong Kong.
- Introduced Transgender Guidelines: Gender Transition, Identity and Expression, a handbook for APAC, EMEA and U.S. employees and managers to support transgender or transsexual employees and assist managers who have team members undergoing or planning gender transition.
- Updated the Corporate Governance Guidelines for our Board of Directors to include sexual orientation among diversity criteria for new Board members. BNY Mellon is one of only six Fortune 500 companies to consider LGBT+ a Board diversity attribute.
- Supported BNY Mellon lawyers conducting pro bono legal screenings of people seeking U.S. asylum because of persecution for LGBT+ and/or HIV-positive status. Based on the interviews, our volunteers make recommendations to Legal Services NYC attorneys on which cases to pursue.
- Launched The Name Change Project, an initiative with support from BNY Mellon lawyers that helps transgender people change their names to match their gender identity.
Media Contact
Madelyn McHugh
+1 212 635 1376
madelyn.mchugh@bnymellon.com