Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble
Company, also known as P&G, on Tuesday publicly endorsed allowing
gay and lesbian couples to marry.
“We have always supported our
employees and fostered a culture of inclusion and respect – this
includes the right to marry whomever they choose and to have that
union legally recognized,” Deborah P. Majoras, P&G's chief
legal officer, is quoted as saying by the Cincinnati
Inquirer.
“For our company, it's not a
political statement, but a statement of support for our employees,”
said William Gipson, P&G's chief global diversity officer.
P&G has supported the city's annual
Gay Pride parade since 2011 and it has offered health benefits to the
domestic partners of gay employees since 2001.
Last year, the consumer products giant
endorsed passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA),
which seeks to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity.
P&G's announcement comes less than
two weeks after the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
upheld bans on gay marriage in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and
Tennessee.