Eagles shared a statement with Out Leadership, included below:
“As we approach the final few weeks of the FDA’s current public comment period on its policies around the acceptance of blood donations from gay and bisexual men, I wanted to reflect on Twitter’s leadership on this issue a year ago.
Twitter’s very public cancellation of its blood drives in November 2015 – in response to the FDA’s policy — was a bold decision that highlights the need for companies to engage practices that are fair and inclusive of all their employees. If the FDA’s discriminatory blood donation policy were based on science, not stigma, then companies wouldn’t be put in the position of alienating some of their employees by excluding them from blood drives.
I’m thrilled that Jim Halloran, President of TwitterOpen, is able to be part of the Blood Equality panel at the Hammer Museum, on November 22 and will share his experience and involvement in Twitter’s decision. It’s inspiring when people and companies take a stand for what is right – which is precisely what Jim and Twitter did. Until the FDA’s policy is fair and based on sound science, I hope other companies follow Twitter’s lead.
If you are in L.A., please join us for an in-depth conversation about this important equality issue at the Hammer Museum, co-presented by the Williams Institute, and moderated by Mark Joseph Stern of Slate.com.
Panelists include:
- Brad Sears, Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Williams Institute, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.
- Kelsey Louie, CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the world’s first organization for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy. GMHC has been leading the national fight on this issue.
- Jim Halloran, President of TwitterOpen. In November 2015, Twitter canceled their corporate/office blood drivesbecause of the inequality for all its employees and to take a stand for equality.
- Jeffrey Klausner, MD, professor of medicine and public health in the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Epidemiology”
Learn more about the event, and livestream it, on the Hammer Museum’s site.