Gay friendly

"Gay-friendly" refers to places, policies, people or institutions that actively seek to create an environment friendly towards LGBT people. This is typically a late 20th century North American term that was the byproduct of both a gradual implementation of gay rights and acceptance of policies supportive of LGBT people in the workplace and in schools, as well as the recognition of gays and lesbians as a distinct consumer groups for businesses. Cities that are known worldwide as being gay-friendly include San Francisco, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Berlin amongst others. [ [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewList&list_id=861 Lonely Planet - Top Gay Cities] ]

Many businesses now identify as gay-friendly, allowing for a more diversified employee and customer base. The Human Rights Campaign works to achieve equality for gays, lesbians and other and publishes a list of companies in relation to issues concerning LGBT people. Companies who are noted for gay-friendly work environments include Dell Inc. and Coca-Cola Company. Companies such as R Family Vacations, Ginch Gonch and Egotour and numerous others offer niche products and services for gay customers. [ [http://www.egotour.eu egotour - user reviews, gay travel portal] ] Studies have shown that LGBT communities tends to favor gay-friendly businesses, even if the cost of a particular product or service is higher. [ [http://www.edgelosangeles.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=74392 Edge- Gay Consumers Willing to Pay More to Gay-friendly Companies] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.hrc.org/ Human Rights Campaign, lobby group for LGBT rights]
* [http://gaylife.about.com/cs/gayatwork/a/gaycompanies.htm Listing of top gay friendly companies]
* [http://www.GayExecutive.com/ Gay Executive - Magazine about gay workplace issues]