Bravo Microsoft. We love companies that realize humans are humans, love is love, and discrimination is wrong. The following excerpt is from what is self identified as "the largest Christian website in the world," WND.com , but we don't mind taking great news from them.
… Microsoft offers donated products such as Windows 10, Office 365 Nonprofit and other training and resources to nonprofit charity organizations as part of its Microsoft Corporate Citizenship Charity Sales program, which donates $2 million in software every day to charities.
But, according to the company’s “nondiscrimination policy,” Christian nonprofits need not apply for the donated software – that is, unless they’re willing to hire gay, lesbian and transgender employees, a move that such ministries may see as directly conflicting with their biblical beliefs regarding traditional marriage.
Microsoft’s policy offer exclusions for actual churches, which have legally protected hiring exemptions. However, no such protection appears to be offered to faith-based 501(c)(3) ministries – and disqualification from the program could present a financial burden to groups that are unwilling to hire openly gay, lesbian, or transgender employees because the organizations adhere to biblical teachings on homosexuality.
The Microsoft policy states:
“Organizations that engage in discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training or services, promotion, termination, and/or retirement based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political affiliation, union membership, or veteran status other than as allowed by law, are not eligible to participate in this program.”
The company’s “Who’s Eligible” page continues:
“Therefore, organizations are not eligible to participate in the Microsoft corporate citizenship nonprofit giving program if they have a policy or mission of discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training or services, promotion, termination, and/or retirement based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, political affiliation, union membership, or veteran status.”
The company boasts that it “donates software, services, and equipment to numerous LGBT civil rights and service organizations,” and that it was “one of the first companies with sexual orientation in its corporate nondiscrimination policy,” a change made in 1989. – WND.com
So thanks WND for bringing to our attention another reason to like Microsoft and Bill Gates.
Or do you think Microsoft should look past the fact that helpful organizations do not hire LGBT individuals? Does the good they do outweight their anti-LGBT hiring policies?
It was interesting to go to WND.com and read the comments on this topic. What are yours?
courtesy of WND.com
Truly amazing that Instinct
Truly amazing that Instinct Magazine would quote a Conservative Christian publication without doing ANY fact checking. That article is thoroughly incorrect because it leaves out a very important clause of their Non Discrimination Policy:
That clause is further reinforced by this:
.Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/nonprofits/faq/?Eligibility
So instead your article should have lambasted Microsoft for not having the moral strength to do the right thing and stand up against discrimination in all cases.
well, sorry. I still prefer
well, sorry. I still prefer Ubuntu.
If the courts allow religious
If the courts allow religious groups to discriminate, why should any individual (corporate identity according to the courts) do the same based on principle?