How Multinational Corporations Can Advance LGBT+ Rights in Anti-LGBT+ Countries

With 70 countries in the world that treat consensual homosexual activity as illegal, including 13 that can punish such activity with the death penalty, multinational organizations that support LGBT+ rights face difficult choices when operating in anti-LGBT+ jurisdictions.

To mark WorldPride and the 50^th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law has released a discussion paper, Opening Up The World: How Multinational Organizations Can Ascend the Maturity Curve on LGBT+ Rights, on how pro-LGBT+ companies can assess a jurisdiction’s legal, social, and company environments and identify appropriate strategies to advance LGBT+ rights.

The paper examines how companies can advance from a “When in Rome” model (in which companies follow local norms) to an “Embassy” model (in which they focus on internal LGBT+ inclusion), and finally to an “Advocate” model (in which they strive to influence local law and culture). Their research is based on interviews with 30 leaders and employees across five continents from three multinational organizations—EY, Dow, and Microsoft.