Building on the Supreme Court’s Ruling for LGBTQ+ Employees

Editor's note: This article was originally posted on LinkedIn, to read and share your thoughts on that post, please click here.

Monday was a day worth celebrating. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects an estimated 8.1 million LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination in employment.

With their 6-3 decision, justices decided that Title VII, which bars job discrimination because of sex, also extends to bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The justices affirmed what many of us already knew in our hearts: We should treat everyone the same, regardless of color, gender, who they love, the language they speak, and who they pray to or don’t pray to.

This July 2 will mark the 56-year anniversary of the Civil Rights Act being enacted, but it has taken time for attitudes to change, for education to take hold, for diverse points of view to be considered, for empathy to shine through, and, yes, for legal cases to be researched and argued. But, as we approach the final weeks of Pride Month, we must acknowledge that there is much work to do to bring about the changes envisioned by this landmark act.

At Progress we will always strive to be an inclusive community that accepts and celebrates the backgrounds of all people.

Progress created an inclusion and diversity committee a couple of years ago, with participation from across our global employee base, which is supporting the ongoing development of employee resource groups. Our initial efforts were focused more on gender equity, which have recently expanded to include the issue of systemic racism, and we are in the process of extending these efforts to include other diverse groups.

See our Progress for Tomorrow page

As a CEO, it’s imperative for me to spark an open discourse with our team so they know what our company stands for and how we can come together to bring change within our own spheres of influence.

Yes, the U.S. is facing challenges with a need for systemic change in many important areas. It may appear daunting to tackle several large issues at the same time, but they’re all rooted in a simple principle – all human beings are entitled to the same treatment, the same access to justice, opportunity and security—in short, the same in everything we do.

As the saying goes, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

To do so, we just have to answer one question: Are we in this together or not?

I believe we are.

The Supreme Court ruling is a welcome, well-timed and long overdue reminder.

Read: Corporate Social Responsibility Report