From University of Massachusetts Amherst. In this study of IBM’s LGBT+ self-identification practice, we inaugurate a series of case studies of diversity and inclusion policies and practices adopted by innovative companies.

This report and the series are designed to explore the business rationale and goals of IBM and other companies when adopting inclusive policies and practices, to assess the impact of the policies and practices, and to provide insight for employers who might learn from the experiences of innovators. The series will also serve learning goals for students and other relevant practitioners. After a brief introduction, this report describes how IBM’s selfID process works. The second section describes how IBM arrived at this moment, and the third and fourth sections describe implementation and the uses of the data. The final section looks ahead to the future of the practice.

Criterion Institute, with the generous support of Dreilinden, has released “Investing with an LGBTQI Lens: Rethinking Gender Analysis Across Investing Fields,” a new guide on investing to further the rights and empowerment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals.

We live in a moment where cultural norms, behaviors, and laws related LGBTQI individuals are changing significantly around the globe. On the one hand, there are expanded freedoms for our sexual orientations and gender identities. On the other, persecution and discrimination continue, and in some places are on the rise.

Our guide is an invitation to a range of individuals and institutions—including asset holders, asset managers, philanthropic funders, and gender lens investors—to think about how finance, as a system of power, can be engaged to address the marginalization and oppression of LGBTQI people. The guide also makes the case that incorporating an LGBTQI lens increases the ability of all investors to understand how LGBTQI considerations are material to investment decision making, helping them to uncover hidden opportunities and undervalued risks. Drawing on our 15 years of work building the field of gender lens investing, we describe the ideas, activities, people, and organizations who can participate in building a parallel investing field that achieves true equality for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.