Zynga, EA say no push back over pro-gay stances; Nordstrom supports gay marriage
A report from GamesIndustry International quotes insiders at two major video game-producing companies as saying their companies have experienced no negative repercussions for their support of gay issues.
Despite taking part in an amicus brief against the Defense of Marriage Act, Zynga‘s Reggie Davis said the response was:
“Not a peep from investors, from the press, or internally.”
And with regard to the inclusive designs of games from Electronic Arts, Ginger Maseda said:
“There have been no questions, comments or concerns raised from our investors with regards to support for LGBT initiatives in the community or having LGBT characters in our games.”
The rest of the article discusses the nature of game creation, and ponders the future possibility that video games will be tailored to be even more inclusive and diverse.
In other news, the presidents of the retail chain Nordstrom have issued a memo in which they say the company supports the marriage rights of its lesbian or gay employees:
“With respect to our gay and lesbian employees, Nordstrom was an early adopter of adding sexual orientation to our anti-discrimination policy, which means we guarantee the same legal rights and protections in our workplace to gay and lesbian employees just as we do for other employees regardless of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical, mental or sensory disability, and gender identity….
“We gave this thoughtful consideration and felt the time was right to come out in support of this civil rights issue. It is our belief that our gay and lesbian employees are entitled to the same rights and protections marriage provides under the law as our other employees. We also believe supporting freedom to marry will help us create a more attractive and inclusive workplace for our current and prospective employees.”
Read the full memo from Blake, Pete and Erik Nordstram at GLAAD.org.
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