Mexican companies are becoming increasingly LGBTQIA+ friendly

In Mexico , the number of companies with LGBTQIA+ friendly work policies nearly doubled in 2019, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation ( HRC ) announced on December 5, showing the influence U.S. corporations have on local business partners to support workers from the LGBTQIA+ community .

The number grew to 120 from 69 in 2018, according to the annual Equidad MX report created by the U.S.-based Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC).

U.S.-based firms including Nike , Uber , and Walmart comprised more than half the list, while the number of Mexican-owned companies with LGBTQIA+ friendly policies grew to 36 from 15, it added.

The HRC said it evaluated firms on a range of criteria including non-discrimination policies and their public support for the LGBTQIA+ community . It issued its first report in Mexico in 2017 with 32 companies.

The progress showed large U.S. companies that already have inclusive workplace policies encouraging smaller, local partners to adopt similar practices, HRC said.

“The companies with which we started the program are having a positive influence on their supply chains ,” said Francisco Robledo , HRC Equidad MX Implementing Partner.

In Mexico , progressive legislations and public policies have helped motivate larger local companies to join the list, including state oil company PEMEX and bottling giant Coca Cola FEMSA , Robledo said.

on the basis of sexual orientation has been illegal in Mexico since 2003 . Mexico was the second country, after Ecuador, to implement such a law in Latin America.

More than half of Mexico ’s 32 states recognize gay marriage , and in May, the Supreme Court ruled that trans people have a legal right to change their gender identity on official documents.

Despite the progress made, gay and trans people still face violence in Mexico .

According to a 2014 survey by Mexican advocacy group ADIL , 35% of LGBTQIA+ people said they had been subject to discrimination in the workplace , with 10% saying they had been fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity .

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