Straight people
rule

If you wish your coworkers would pull a Katharine Heigl and speak out proudly for LGBT rights, help is on the way. This month Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays are helping straight allies out of the closet with a massive multimillion dollar awareness campaign called "Straight for Equality."

Inspired by an influx of inquiries from straights with the desire to support the gay community but no idea how to go about it, PFLAG created Straight for Equality to provide them with direction.

"I've heard so many straight people say they aren't sure how to find a role in a movement that isn't their own," says Jean-Marie Navetta, national director of communications at PFLAG. "Straight for Equality will give them the tools they need to get more involved in supporting the LGBT community, not necessarily through marching in parades but through simple decisions they make in everyday life."

Although official workplace training isn't due to begin until January, the initial phase of the campaign, Straight for Equality...in the Workplace, has initiated pilot proceedings with PepsiCo, MetLife, IBM, and Food Lion, among other notable corporations. Initially, PFLAG reps work with top-level management to develop an approach for their company, then implement this approach through a series of two-hour Lunch & Learn workshops, training sessions, presentations, and discussions as part of the human resources agenda.

"Work is a place where people are brought together with a common purpose, so it's the perfect laboratory setting to promote equality," says John Cepek, president of PFLAG National.

During the two hour Lunch & Learn workshops, PFLAG representatives and corporate leaders hold open discussions with employees on each rung of the corporate ladder in order to overcome barriers to LGBT support.

"We hit them both at the head and heart," explains Cepek. "Using the same types of exercises in corporate training, we explain why building an LGBT-friendly professional environment is not only good for business but good for corporate culture."

Peggy Moore, recently retired vice president of human resources at PepsiCo (and PFLAG board member), feels that corporate America is the perfect initial target for this program. "By instituting domestic partner benefits, corporations are clearly ahead of government," she says. "Corporate America has been and should be a factor in leading this agenda."

Straight for Equality in the Workplace was a big hit at PepsiCo. "It was one of the highest-ranking sessions because people felt they learned the most," says Moore. "It was successful in helping straight friends and family feel more comfortable standing up for their gay relationships, so more of their gay friends and coworkers could feel comfortable about being out in the workplace."

The first phase of this initiative will officially kick off at this week's 2007 PFLAG National Convention with the first inaugural Straight for Equality Award honoring longtime PFLAG supporter and straight ally, Dear Abby.

"I'm truthfully honored and very touched," says Dear Abby. "We need to remind straights how important it is to speak out for common decency. Gay rights are human rights, and our bill of rights states that we are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The LGBT community has long been shortchanged in this regard."

The next phase of Straight for Equality includes initiatives tailored to the legal, media, and educational fields. "Our grand plan is to integrate the program where people live, work, play, and worship," says Jody Huckaby, PFLAG National's Executive Director. "As the elections approach, LGBT rights are hot-button issues on a state and federal level. The timing couldn't be better."

For more information on Straight for Equality, click here.