Strategy & Leadership

Corporate LGBT advocacy set to advance despite potential headwinds, new EIU study finds

May 24, 2018

Global

  • Nearly half of executives believes businesses in their country will take on a bigger role as agents of progress for LGBT rights over the next three years
  • Almost 60% say current global political climate could undo progress made in LGBT inclusion, although few cite inaction by government in driving corporate advocacy
  • Business advocacy on LGBT issues is heavily concentrated in North America; Asia, Middle East and Africa lag

Increasingly positive social attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people will compel businesses to join the fight for LGBT rights in ever-greater numbers, according to new research unveiled today by The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU). This suggests that executives expect recent progress in LGBT rights to continue unabated, despite political developments that may suggest otherwise.

The study is based on a global survey of over 1,000 executives across 87 countries and is part of a research programme assessing different aspects of LBGT inclusion under the banner of The Economist Events’ series. The findings are informed by interviews with senior executives from corporate heavyweights including Google, as well as political leaders such as Ana Helena Chacón, former vice-president of Costa Rica. This year’s research focussed on the evolving landscape for public LGBT advocacy and how the environment for it may change in future. It finds that although executives say their firms remain committed to advocacy, these attitudes vary by region and company type. Multinational companies, for example, are more likely than their domestically-focused counterparts to boost future investment in advocacy, highlighting a persistent gap in global and local activity in places where community engagement is a crucial factor in positive change.

Unfortunately, companies which remain “stuck in a rut” on LGBT issues are not likely to take on the mantle of advocacy anytime soon: among companies which do not currently consider themselves role models for LGBT diversity and inclusion, only 18% believe it will get easier for them to engage in public advocacy around LGBT issues in future. This underscores the need for knowledge transfer from companies at the forefront of this space to those still in the shadows, particularly as the future is hardly guaranteed to provide a more conducive social backdrop for advocacy.

Among executives who believe that businesses will take on a more prominent role as agents of change for LGBT people in future, the vast majority (66%) cite increasingly positive attitudes toward LGBT people in society as the main impetus for this shift. Yet as rising populism and nativism take hold in the West, coupled with the entrenchment of authoritarianism elsewhere in the world, this may prove to be an overly optimistic assessment of the direction of travel in this on-going struggle.

Michael Gold, EIU editor and author of the report, said, “We still need to think about what it means for advocacy to be effective and what should be the desired outcomes. In today’s increasingly connected world, public promotion of LGBT rights should be a joint effort of businesses around the globe. Companies being out, loud and proud will mean a great deal to the overall progress of LGBT diversity and inclusion, particularly as social progress remains imperilled.”

The full research report, entitled , will be released at The Economist Events’ Pride and Prejudice Summit, a 24-hour event being held on May 24th in Hong Kong, London and New York.

For more information and updates on Pride and Prejudice, visit .

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Briony Lin, assistant marketing manager, content solutions, Asia-Pacific

+852 2585 3843

 

Michael Gold, editor, thought leadership, Asia-Pacific

+852 2585 3886

 

About The Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The Economist Intelligence Unit helps executives make better decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information can be found at .

About The Economist Events

We gather the world’s top thinkers to build insight and exchange views on the issues that define our world. With a uniquely global perspective, we create over 100 unusually high-level and engaging live and virtual events each year. Our aim is to bring clarity to complex problems, inspire ideas and to help our audiences make better decisions.

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