- 379 Companies sign amicus brief; 33 signatories are members of Out Leadership, participate in OPEN Finance, or both
- Out on the Street and OPEN Finance partner with Freedom to Marry to lead unprecedented wave of financial services industry support for marriage equality
- Senior leaders of Out Leadership and OPEN Finance firms comment on historic amicus brief:
- Peter Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg LP; Member, Out Leadership Global Advisory Board
- Bob Annibale, Managing Director, Citi
- Jacques Brand, CEO of North America, Deutsche Bank
- Michael Bodson, President & CEO of DTCC
- Karyn Twaronite, Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Officer, EY
- Pat Burke, President and CEO, HSBC USA
- Lee Schreter, chairperson of the Board of Directors, Littler
- Ted Smyth, Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs, McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.
- Raymond McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Moody’s
- Katherine O’Brien, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, New York Life
- Bob Moritz, U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC
New York, NY – 33 members of Out Leadership and participants in OPEN Finance have signed the business amicus brief supporting marriage in advance of oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the firms announced today. The firms also partnered with Freedom to Marry in the campaign to secure signatories to the brief, which was organized by Out in Law member firm Morgan Lewis.
The 33 signatories include: Accenture, AIG, American Express, Barclays, BlackRock, Bloomberg, BNY Mellon, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, DTCC, EY, GE, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Littler, KPMG, Marsh, McGraw Hill Financial, McKinsey & Co., Moody’s, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, PwC, RBC, TD Bank, TD Securities, UBS, Wells Fargo.
In 2013, Out Leadership and OPEN Finance secured 14 firms as signatories to the amicus brief in support of marriage equality in Windsor v. United States.
Peter Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg LP, said:
“I’m deeply proud of our diverse community at Bloomberg. Signing this brief is another reflection of our belief that everyone deserves respect and fair treatment, and I fervently hope that the Supreme Court stands up for these quintessentially American values later this year.”
Bob Annibale, Managing Director and business sponsor of the LGBT Pride network at Citi, said:
“Citi is proud to support marriage equality and advocate for the equitable treatment of our diverse employee base. Global diversity is core to who we are and allows us to best serve our global clients, customers, shareholders and partners.”
Jacques Brand, CEO of North America, Deutsche Bank, said:
“Deutsche Bank strongly supports this brief on marriage equality. It’s important to us that all people are treated equally and fairly. And a diverse and inclusive society is a more productive society, which is good for business.”
Michael Bodson, President & CEO of DTCC, said:
“DTCC remains committed to workplace diversity and equality,” stated. “We are proud to partner with our OPEN Finance peers in signing the amicus brief in support of marriage equality and equal civil rights for all.”
Karyn Twaronite, Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Officer, EY, said:
“Consistent regulations regarding the recognition of marriage for all LGBT Americans can help streamline business operations for companies and ease some logistical challenges that we work to navigate with our LGBT professionals on an ongoing basis. EY is proud to support this amicus brief because it squarely aligns with our culture of inclusion for people of all differences and backgrounds.”
Pat Burke, President and CEO, HSBC USA, said:
“We are committed to a culture of fairness and meritocracy. All employees, customers and parties we deal with deserve to have their ideas and aspirations heard without bias based on who they are. We stand by others who support this effort to bring equality into every part of the workplace.”
Lee Schreter, chairperson of the Board of Directors, Littler, said:
“As a firm, we are deeply committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace for all of our attorneys and staff. Our collective differences – in backgrounds, experiences and perspectives – are the strength of our firm and a critical element of Littler’s continued success. We are proud to stand in support of marriage equality so that all loving couples, regardless of where they live, can enjoy the equal right to marry.”
Ted Smyth, the Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs of McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., said:
“We are proud to be a part of the amicus brief in support of marriage equality. All of our employees should have the right to marry and be treated the same under the law.”
Raymond McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s, said:
“We’ve seen that marriage equality makes good business sense, and we hope the court will act to remove the patchwork of laws that make it harder and more expensive to extend full workplace benefits to all employees across the country, regardless of sexual orientation.”
Katherine O’Brien, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at New York Life, said:
“We are proud to once again add our voice to businesses across the United States in support of this historic effort and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to marriage equality.”
Bob Moritz, U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC, said:
“Supporting marriage equality is the right thing to do, for our employees and for our business. This is about LGBT employees being treated equally and also about what’s best for American businesses.”
Todd Sears, Founder and Principal of Out Leadership, said:
“History is about to be made, and this is possibly the last chance firms will have to express themselves before the Supreme Court rules on whether Americans have a civil right to marriage equality. Markets are rational. The irrationality of discrimination has never sat well for Wall Street. We’re not surprised to see Out Leadership firms leading the way on this issue of fundamental equality in our country.”
Daniel Maury, Managing Director, UBS and Cofounder, OPEN Finance, said:
“Our campaign leveraged OPEN Finance’s deep connections across Wall Street; we mobilized over 100 LGBT leaders throughout the financial services industry. Those leaders sent a powerful message to their firms’ senior management: we need you to take action. Ultimately, the result is increased loyalty to our employers, and a great sense of pride for what our leaders have done to support LGBT equality. It took courage and determination from them, and we are incredibly grateful.”
Evan Wolfson, Founder and President of Freedom to Marry, said:
“Marriage discrimination not only harms America’s families, but America’s businesses, imposing an unwieldy, expensive, and unnecessary burden on companies, employees, and the economy. Smart employers know that marriage for same-sex couples is good for business and for productivity. Freedom to Marry is proud of our partnership with OPEN Finance and OUT Leadership in securing signatories on the business brief, and of our ongoing role in getting businesses on the right side of history. And we are especially proud of the nearly 400 leading businesses who have joined us in declaring it’s time for the Supreme Court to finish the job on marriage.”