Originally Published by Bayer.
The Bayer Group is reinforcing its commitment to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people through the Group’s support of the new United Nations anti-discrimination standards. “For many years now, Bayer has taken a diverse approach to demonstrating its commitment to the rights of LGBTI people within our organization and our area of influence,” wrote Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG, in a letter to Fabrice Houdart, an officer at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York.
The “Standards of Conduct for Business on tackling discrimination against LGBTI people” formulated by the United Nations last year consist of five principles for how businesses can respect and support the rights of LGBTI people in the workplace, in the marketplace and in the community. Businesses that support this code of conduct commit themselves to protecting the human rights of LGBTI people, not discriminating against them in their own companies and allowing them to freely express themselves. These companies should also insist that their clients and business partners respect the human rights of LGBTI people and work to promote their interests worldwide.
The BLEND community represents the interests of LGBTI people at Bayer
“We are delighted with Bayer’s support for the United Nations’ new anti-discrimination standards, which reinforce the right of all employees to be themselves at their places of work,” says Jesse Kamsler on behalf of BLEND, Bayer’s company-wide group for the LGBTI community. “In our opinion, the UN code of conduct is a meaningful step in confronting every form of discrimination and supporting human rights. We are proud that Bayer is supporting the United Nations in the fight for this important goal,” Kamsler adds. When it launched in 2012, BLEND, the global working group of LGBTI Bayer employees and their supporters, set for itself the objective of actively supporting the company in becoming a globally visible model of equal opportunities and encouraging individuals within the company to flourish freely.
