![microsoft[1]](http://www.queerty.com/wp/docs/2009/10/microsoft1.gif "microsoft[1]")
Microsoft is a power player in all the world, but especially Washington Sate, which it calls home with its Redmond headquarters. So it's nice to see the tech giant (market cap: $222 billion) donate some $100,000 to Washington Families Standing Together in an effort to pass Referendum 71. Not even 10 years ago, a corporation so blatantly supporting a gay rights cause would face backlash from conservatives with boycott threats. And while that's still a possibility, these threats are now empty — not only because public sentiment has changed, but also because, well, this is Microsoft, and there's no escaping its Office suite of software! Then again, Microsoft has some major catching up to do with the gays, given its growing history of hating on gay consumers.
To be sure, internally, Microsoft has a decent record with supporting the gays. Thanks to the lobbying efforts of employee group Gay and Lesbian Employees at Microsoft (GLEAM), the company added sexual orientation and gender identity to its own anti-discrimination policies, and offers health insurance to same-sex domestic partners.
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Lets give Microsoft a pass. Takes major techballs to make a major contribution like that Methinks that the majority of Microsofters are for us. There could be some homophobic asshats in the sector which decides which software to make accesible to whom who decide to make some apps difficult to use
"no escaping its Office suite of software"
Um… Open Office, anyone? Actually paying for that overpriced software is shockingly stupid when you can get almost the exact same thing online for free. Downloading Open Office instead of buying Microsoft Office will save you enough dough to practically buy another laptop or netbook ;)
Actually being so LGBT-critical of Microsoft may be a tiny bit unwarranted. The company has the highest-ranking transgendered executive of ANY Fortune 500 company, Megan Wallent. She's also very well-respected in the tech community.
Check out Megan's blog:
http://meganwallent.com
Bill Gates is so closet…seriously…
Just a reminder that Microsoft in a giant marketing machine, nothing more. They often had to defend themselves in courts around the world against accusations of mobbing etc. by gay employees.
This is one of the last ones I've seen, Jamie Durrant:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tec.....hobia.html
There are many more. Most of them settled out of court.