July 10, 2012 | Online

Google all about the gays

Hoping to make the world a better place for gays and lesbians, Google has launched a new campaign called "Legalize Love" which focuses on creating safer working conditions for LGBT employees around the world.

The campaign was officially launched in Poland and Singapore this past Saturday. The aim is to introduce the campaign in every country the company has an office, pressuring governments to be more tolerant and supportive of the LGBT community.

"We want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do in the office," explained Google's Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe during the Global LGBT Workplace Summit in London. "It is obviously a very ambitious piece of work."

Singapore was an obvious choice, said Palmer-Edgecumbe. "Singapore wants to be a global financial center and world leader and we can push them on the fact that being a global center and a world leader means you have to treat all people the same, irrespective of their sexual orientation."

"If you are trying to change something - governments can exert diplomatic power, NGOs can martial facts and arguments - but corporations martial economic power," Harry Gaskell, from Ernst & Young, added. "That is something even the most passive of countries will listen to."

Google wants the world to "Legalize Love" [429 Magazine]