Michael Gray
It’s Pride Month, and ABB has many reasons to be proud.
As a global company with a large and varied employee population, ABB has takendiversity and inclusion (D&I) seriously for a long time. We have taken many steps topromote an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion for all employees. As aresult, here and across the world, our employee base is as diverse and multicultural asthe communities we serve. For Pride month, we’d like to highlight a few of the stepsABB has taken toward LGBTQ+ inclusion.
- Encompass Pride – ABB supports Encompass, a network of diversity &inclusion employee resource groups. Our LGBTQ+ group, Encompass Pride, meets monthly and holds a wide variety of events for Pride month.
- LGBTQ+ Awareness training – Encompass Pride, in partnership with ABB’sTalent and Learning team, developed a 20-minute training module that providesa brief overview of basic definitions, scenarios, and ways to be an ally. Thetraining is available for all employees via the company’s internal website.
- Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index – ABB joined over 1,000companies that showcase their commitment to LGBTQ+ workplace equality byearning 90% on the HRC Corporate Equality Index. The Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to LGBTQ+ employees. It rates companies on four measures: workforceprotections, inclusive benefits, supporting an inclusive culture and corporatesocial responsibility, and responsible citizenship.
- ABB signed United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business Tackling Discrimination against LGBTQ+ People. The Standards of Conduct provide five concrete steps that companies can take to align their policies and practices with international standards on human rights of LGBTQ+ These include respecting human rights, eliminating discrimination, provide support, preventing other human rights violations, and acting in the public sphere.
- LGBTQ+ organization partnerships – ABB has partnered with several LGBTQ+organizations that facilitated ABB’s focus on workplace equality and recruitment,including Human Rights Campaign, Equality North Carolina, Out 4 Undergrad, oSTEM, and Stonewall.
- ABB supported the Equality Act – ABB joined the Human Rights Campaignand many other companies supporting the US Equality Act. The Act wouldprovide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ peopleacross key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.
ABB will continue to build a welcoming work environment for all employees becauseit’s the right thing to do. It also happens to be good business. Our company thrives oninnovation, and experts agree that this happens best when people are free to bethemselves at work.
So, hats off to our LGBTQ+ coworkers—thanks for everything you do to make ABBandeverything we do together better.
