Search giant Google is being praised
for significantly increasing the health care benefits of its
transgender employees in the United States.
According to gay glossy The
Advocate, company officials announced the new updated
coverage internally on Friday.
Coverage for transitioning procedures
and treatment has been increased to met the World Professional
Association for Transgender Health's (WPATH) Standards of Care.
Google spokesman Jordan Newman told the
magazine that the company agreed to cover “the full range of
procedures under WPATH.”
He added that “WPATH Standards of
Care are considered the highest standards of care for transgender
individuals.”
“The folks at Google are clearly
dedicated to providing a work environment that fosters everyone's
ability to be their own authentic selves, as it was never a question
of 'if' or 'why,' but rather 'how' to offer the best health care
benefits possible to transgender employees,” Masen Davis, executive
director of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, said in a
statement. “This is as courageous as it is unprecedented.”
Google's move is expected to spur other
tech giants to offer similar benefits.