Managing Sexual Orientation Diversity: The Impact on Firm Value

In: Group & organization management: an international journal, Band 33, Heft 5, S. 602-625

Abstract

This article examines the relation between a firm's stock market value and the extent to which the firm manages sexual orientation diversity in its workplace. To investigate this issue, we analyze the stock market reaction to the release of the inaugural corporate equality index (CEI). The CEI rates firms on how extensively they manage gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) workplace issues. The article is structured as a series of competing hypotheses that parallel societal views on GLBT workplace equality. Proponents of GLBT workplace equality suggest that good corporate citizenship increases firm value although opponents argue that the primary, if not sole, purpose of the firm is to maximize shareholder wealth, and that the value of the firm may be negatively affected due to public backlash. Our findings suggest that GLBT-friendly workplace policies are at worst value neutral and firms are not penalized for supporting GLBT workforce diversity.