Thursday, May 15,2008 @ 9:25am
Apple rated among top 'gay-friendly' companies
Apple is considered to be one of the most gay-friendly brands on the market, according to a study conducted on behalf of ad agency Prime Access and media company PlanetOut. The survey polled 2,259 people aged 18 to 64, divided between 1,502 in the general public and 757 gays and lesbians; Apple ranked second in the survey, with 23 percent of the general population and 39 percent of the gay/lesbian group calling the company "strongly" gay-friendly.
Perception of a company as gay-friendly is said to be largely based on advertising, but also the influence of friends and the media. Apple's rating may in fact be influenced by its corporate policies, which made the company one of the first to extend employee benefits to gay and lesbian couples.
The Bravo Network took first place in the survey, likely as a result of shows with openly gay participants, such as Project Runway, Workout and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Other high-performing brands include Showtime, HBO, Absolut and Levi's.
Towards the bottom of the list, companies such as Samsung, Wal-Mart, Dunkin Donuts and Cracker Barrel had very little support from the survey group, in some cases receiving only a 3 percent "strong" rating from gay and lesbian participants. Cracker Barrel has long had a bad reputation in the LGBT community, since only in 2002 did it rescind a policy of discriminating against gay employees.