In 2020, American Airlines was honored by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) with the highest possible rating (a score of 100%) in the prestigious 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). American has earned a perfect score on the index for the past 18 years, one of a few corporations to earn the highest score and the only airline to do so every year since the start of the index. American is a strong ally for LGBTQ team members and customers. The airline was the first major U.S. airline to protect LGBTQ team members by including gender identity and sexual orientation in workplace nondiscrimination policies. They were the first major airline to have a company-recognized LGBTQ employee resource group, the Gay and Lesbian Employee Association, GLEAM, which was created to work with management and to reach out to all our employees and allies to embrace fairness, acceptance and diversity in all programs and policies. Patrick O’Keeffe, Senior Vice President of People states, “American’s continued support of our LGBTQ team members and customers is unwavering. It’s always an honor to be recognized for the actions we take to foster diversity, equity and inclusion.” But it wasn’t always this way. American Airlines had a strained relationship with the LGBTQ community in the early 1990s fueled by two major crises that caused the organization to reexamine its corporate cultures as well as its policies. The first crisis became known as the “pillows and blankets” situation. On April 25, 1993, a March on Washington, D.C. for LGBTQ Rights took place....

Discussion Questions 

1. American had to make difficult decisions after the incidents in 1993. What might have happened if they had ignored the concerns of the LGBTQ community? Discuss some of their other options. 2. Would you want to work for American Airlines? Explain your answer by considering their stance on LGBTQ issues. What are the concerns you would want addressed?

3. Do some research on LGBTQ tourism (how much they spend on travel compared to other groups). Make the business case for embracing the LGBTQ community