Salesforce.com CEO David Benioff has drawn lots of media attention, a good deal of praise from civil rights proponents, and plenty of ire from conservative politicians and pro-business groups … all by threatening to reduce the company’s investment from states that pass laws allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBT people and relocate his employees from those states to operations elsewhere. His rallying of other CEOs last year and subsequent national backlash against such laws persuaded conservative governor, and likely Republican vice-presidential nominee, Mike Pence to amend Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, and has led to a broader public—and corporate—outcry this year against similar laws passed in North Carolina and nearly passed in Georgia.
To be sure, the mixing of business policies with political interests has traditionally had a polarizing effect and posed potential risks for companies and their senior executives. But compelling evidence that many more companies are worried about facing more discrimination claims from LGBT workers in the year ahead may convince some corporate leaders to borrow a page or two from Benioff’s playbook.
