News release from American Airlines:
Airline Receives Top Score for Ninth Consecutive Year
FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines has been honored again by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) with the highest ranking possible in its 2011 Corporate Equality Index. The achievement marks the ninth year in a row American has received a top score of 100 percent, a record unmatched by any other airline.
“The Corporate Equality Index is a long-trusted measure that business leaders recognize not only as a meaningful standard, but also as a way to differentiate ourselves for customers and employees,” said Lauri Curtis, American’s Vice President – Diversity and Leadership Strategies. “Earning this distinction once more makes all of us at American Airlines especially proud to stand with the impressive list of corporations that share these principles.”
Curtis noted that 2011 also marks the 17th anniversary of the AMR Diversity Advisory Council, which represents an expansive group of committed employees at American and American Eagle. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Employees and Allies of American Airlines and American Eagle (GLEAM) Employee Resource Group was, in fact, the first among the early-forming affinity groups crucial to the Council’s development. Today, there are 16 Employee Resource Groups advising American and American Eagle on ways to ensure the company is a great place to work for all employees and a good corporate citizen in the communities it serves.
The Human Rights Campaign is dedicated to promoting and ensuring public understanding of gay and lesbian issues through innovative education and communication strategies. A complete list of Corporate Equality Index rankings is available at http://hrc.org.
This year, American Airlines has also been recognized as a leader for its corporate citizenship and commitment to LGBT equality by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (www.glaad.org, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (www.nglcc.org) and by the prestigious Dallas Black Tie Dinner (www.blacktie.org).
For more information on American’s commitment to diversity, visit www.aa.com/diversity.
About American Airlines
American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve nearly 700 destinations in more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)
Gosh, AA should definitely not get a perfect score. They treat their gay retirees who were formerly with TWA like second class citizens. That is, they do not give them Domestic Partnership privileges. Is that fair? If they have recognized DPs as the corporate equivalent of marriage for benefits for AA retirees and employees, why haven't they extended this benefit to all members of the AA family now? They give travel benefits to married heterosexual couples from TWA, but not to gay ones in DPs. It's hypocritial, and I cannot believe that the HRC would condone this.
Posted by: John Poplawski | October 30, 2010 at 05:00 AM