(GayWebSource.com – Gay News & Press Network) – Posted by Michael Lamb – Echelon Magazine

MassMutual Joins Forces with NGLCC to Support LGBT Business Owners and Showcase Diversity of Talent in LGBT Communities

Bring Hands-on Road Shows to LGBT Businesses in California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts and Ohio

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) announced today that it has become a corporate partner with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) to help that organization advance the economic equality of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, better understand the impact that economics could have on the equality movement and help boost economic growth in six key metropolitan areas across the country.

The cornerstone of MassMutual’s work with NGLCC will kick off with local hands-on NGLCC Road Shows to help small businesses in key cities across the country gain certification as LGBT-Business Enterprises—making them eligible to meet federal supplier diversity mandates—and to provide financial education to business owners to help them put essential plans in place to keep their businesses viable over the long-term.

“As an early and outspoken supporter of equality for LGBT people, MassMutual recognizes that these communities are a vibrant, essential part of the small business engine that makes the U.S. economy run,” said Mike Fanning, executive vice president at MassMutual, “and deserve a place at the equality table.“

“The NGLCC is eager to join forces with MassMutual, a company that continues to make significant strides in improving LGBT inclusion—both in the company and its communities,” said Justin Nelson, co-founder and president, NGLCC.

Look for Road Shows dealing with certification and financial education to kick off this year in Miami, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Cleveland.

“We recognize that economic growth in this country can only continue when all members of the business community contribute, and that includes LGBT owners and employees,” said Tara Reynolds, corporate vice president in MassMutual’s U.S. Insurance Group. “We believe expanding the opportunities for and celebrating the advancements of the LGBT business community is a step in the right direction,” she added.

MassMutual is a Fortune 500 company that has been in the forefront of LGBT inclusion through its thriving Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG); MassMutual’s participation in the historic Amicus Brief filed in opposition to DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act); membership in the HRC’s Business Coalition for Benefits Tax Equity; and its support of legislation acts, such as An Act of Gender Equality and an Act Relative to Implementation of the School Bullying Law. In late 2013, MassMutual was notified that they had received a 100-percent score on the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), earning a place on the HRC’s 2014 Best Places to Work list.

To find out dates and locations of local Road Shows, visit nglcc.org/events. For more information about MassMutual’s work with the LGBT community, visit massmutual.com/lgbt. To learn more about the NGLCC, visit nglcc.org.

The post MassMutual and NGLCC Join Forces On Supplier Diversity appeared first on Echelon Magazine: LGBT Business, LGBT Money.

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