Here’s why some Iowa businesses believe equality is important

There are a number of good reasons for businesses to develop workplace inclusion policies, several Corrior companies point out.

One of them is Iowa needs more, qualified workers.

'It does you no good if you have this great recruiting plan and then they leave,' said Patrick Highland, a board member of One Iowa, a statewide civil rights advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) citizens. 'That's where One Iowa does such great work helping these companies create a welcoming environment.

'I love living in Iowa, but it's hard to go to the beach.'

Some big Iowa corporations credit their employees for helping develop inclusive policies recognized by a nationwide workplace survey. But it's not just diversity for diversity's sake.

'From a talent perspective, we want people to know we are an open, welcoming corporation so that we can attract and retain the best talent,' said Oather Taylor, Alliant Energy's director of recruitment and diversity. 'Anyone who is talented and interested can be a part of this corporation and be productive and thrive.'

'Heavy hitters'

Alliant was among several large companies that received a perfect 100 score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's latest Corporate Equality Index released last month.

Cedar Rapids-based Rockwell Collins and Des Moines companies Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Principal Financial Group all received ratings of 100. Transamerica, General Mills and Pearson Inc. — all with operations in Eastern Iowa — also were among the 609 businesses with perfect scores, up from 517 in 2016.

'They're heavy hitters, they're very successful,' said One Iowa's Highland, who's also an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business and Iowa City Community School District supervisor of career and technical education. 'It's not just the right thing to do, it makes perfect business sense.'

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation ratings are based on a business':

l Non-discrimination policies

l Access to employment benefits for same-sex spouses or partners

l 'Demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBTQ diversity and inclusion,' according to the foundation.

'Companies by far understand that being inclusive is certainly the right thing to do, but also the best business decision,' said Beck Bailey, the foundation's deputy director of employee engagement.

'We take this seriously,' said Bruno Rwayitare, senior diversity and community relations specialist for Rockwell Collins. 'Now, the talent pool has a lot of options. We no longer have people who aspire to come to work at a company for 30 years and get a pension.'

'We want to make sure we attract and maintain the best and the brightest talent, and we want to make sure we have access to all that population,' Alliant's Taylor said. 'Recruiting is one step, but retaining is another.'

To that end, Alliant launched its Equality Alliance group about five years ago. It's one of six employee resource groups whose volunteer members sponsor events and provide guidance on their issue to company policymakers.

'It's giving employees and their advocates a place within the company,' Taylor said. 'It allows groups and advocates to connect with each other regardless of their place within the company.'

Lead by example

That can be crucial for a utility company whose employees work at more than 100 sites across its Iowa-Wisconsin service territory. Inclusive policies can be as simple as flying the diversity flag on Pride Day or remodeling restrooms to be gender-neutral — both have happened at Alliant, Taylor noted.

'When you're not the person directly affected by it, it doesn't seem like a big deal,' Highland said.

Alliant staff also attend regular workshops on diversity and inclusion training, Taylor said.

Employee groups develop and monitor anti-discrimination policies at the insurance and financial services corporation Transamerica, according to company spokesman Jim Van Someren.

'Most of the policies reviewed by the HRC — such as our domestic partner benefits, equal employment opportunities and robust talent development programs — are not new for us,' Van Someren wrote in an email. 'What is new to us in the last several years, and has had the biggest impact on our 2015-2018 assessment, are our employee resource groups, which have spearheaded our public engagement efforts and underscored the value of the CEI.'

Wellmark draws on its employee inclusion councils, but 'we have a little bit different perspective in that we really try hard not to create policy,' said Marci Chickering, the insurance company's executive vice president and chief human resources officer.

'Most of us prefer not to be governed on a day-to-day basis by lots of laws and policies,' Chickering said. 'Our focus is to lead by example.'

Being an ally

In addition to new-employee orientation on inclusive practices, Wellmark offers skill-building courses on 'speaking up in the face of bad behavior and being an ally,' said Rona Berinobis, vice president inclusion and organizational development.

'An ally is probably the best asset a member of that community can have,' Berinobis said.

It was an inclusion council member who brought the HRCF's index to management attention.

'It was an opportunity for us to take a look at what their expectations were,' Berinobis said. 'We thought it was important to pay attention to what they thought were best practices.

'We made some minor adjustments to what we were already doing.'

As a federal contractor, Rockwell Collins also must meet non-discrimination standards set by the government, Rwayitare noted.

'We review all of our policies once a year and we make updates if needed to keep in compliance,' he said. 'The federal government requirement definitely positions us to be a friendly workplace.'

All employees take a 45-minute online course and subsequent exam once a year to ensure Rockwell's anti-discrimination policies are understood and followed, Rwayitare said.

'It's clearly communicated there is zero tolerance for any sort of discrimination,' he said.

A company ombudsman addresses any reported cases.

'Explicit coverage'

Highland said Iowa's legal protections for LGBTQ civil rights are an advantage in recruiting and retention. The Iowa Civil Rights Act was amended in 2007 to include those rights.

'You've got express and explicit coverage and protection for those individuals,' said Wilford Stone, a lawyer specializing in employment law at the Cedar Rapids firm Lynch Dallas. (Stone writes a recurring guest column for The Gazette's Sunday Business 380 section.)

Highland noted one group's recent progress in gaining civil protections. The HRC survey found gender identity is part of non-discrimination policies at 83 percent of Fortune 500 companies, up from just 3 percent in 2002.

'It is catching up,' Highland said. 'I think that's the group that's basically been ignored.'

'That is a huge increase in the inclusive policies for trans folks and something we need to celebrate,' said Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, One Iowa's executive director. 'But unfortunately the trans community has almost double the unemployment rate as the general population.'

Iowa is one of 20 states to recognize and protect LGBTQ rights, which aren't protected under federal law. Larger companies operating in states without legal protections may offer the only employment security for LGBTQ workers.

'You can legally be fired 28 states if you are gay, lesbian or bisexual, and 30 states if you are transgender,' Hoffman-Zinnel wrote in an email. 'We have heard from individuals who have moved here to Iowa say they would not have come to Iowa if we did not have these protection on the books.'

'Iowa was one of the trailblazers as far as same-sex marriage,' Transamerica's Berinobis said. 'I think that lines up very well with what our state has stood for in terms of civil rights.'

'It's encouraging, but there are more states than not where you can be fired simply because you're gay,' said Highland. 'So there's more work to do, but the companies in those states have taken the bull by the horns.'

One Iowa organizes LGBTQ workplace culture conferences in Des Moines and Coralville for companies to share their practices and policies.

'It served as a way to network with each other,' Hoffman-Zinnel said. 'Still, in 2017 over half of LGBTQ folks are not 'out' in the workplace. We are going to be focusing more closely on the workplace.'

'It's in their culture'

Stone said employers of all sizes — not just the Fortune 500 surveyed in the Corporate Equality Index — should have written anti-discrimination policies.

'Most employers will gave a handbook policy or some kinds of standards that would cover equitable treatment,' Stone said. 'The same things apply to all protected classes. An employer can avoid litigation if they have a policy that addresses it.'

Ensuring such policies and practices are followed shouldn't be that difficult, Stone, with Lynch Dallas, said.

'It's in their culture, and they also make it part of their metrics in employment evaluations,' he said. 'There's all sorts of ways an employer can make sure their policies are followed.'

The Corridor companies in the index plan to keep their high ratings.

'We're certainly proud that our rating is 100,' Alliant's Taylor said. 'That's great and we're proud of that, but it certainly doesn't represent an end game. Five years from now we will be better than we are today.'

'We believe you can do your best work when you can be yourself,' Chickering said. 'When you can't be yourself — when you can't share what you did over the weekend for example — you're not going to do your best work.'