ITI Announces Its Support for the Equality Act
WASHINGTON — Today, global tech trade association ITI announced its support for the Equality Act, reintroduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives. The act would amend the Civil Rights Act and other key federal nondiscrimination laws to provide employment non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Every individual deserves to have equal access to job opportunities, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Jason Oxman, President and CEO of ITI. “America’s most innovative companies benefit from the diversity of their employees, and Congress must act to protect and promote such diversity by providing a federal standard protecting all employees and job-seekers from workplace discrimination. We applaud Representative David Cicilline (D-RI-01) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on the introduction of this bill and urge lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate to quickly pass this important measure.”
In June 2020, ITI commended the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision protecting LGBTQ+ employees in the federal workplace from discrimination. According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, there are approximately 8.1 million LGBTQ+ U.S. workers, 3.9 million of whom live in states without statutes prohibiting LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination.