The Boston Globe - 30.08.2019

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 The Boston Globe Business B

ing valued, is a horrible
choice,” Coletti said. “But it’s
not an illusion.”
Coletti eventually left the
firm and has since completed
her transition. She now works
at nonprofit architecture firm
MASS Design Group and is de-
signing a memorial for the 49
people who died in the June
2016 Pulse nightclub massa-
cre.
But there are signs of pro-
gress. More companies — in-
cluding some here — are find-
ing ways to adapt their stan-
dard policies to accommodate
people of all gender identities
and sexualities. For example,
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
lets people type in their own
pronouns on forms instead of
choosing male or female.
Some companies offer
health care benefits that in-
clude gender-affirming treat-
ments and procedures. Insur-

uLGBTQ
Continued from Page B

ance company MassMutual’s

plan, for instance, includes

coverage for cosmetic surgeries

that some transgender people

need to alleviate dysphoria

such as facial feminization and

Adam’s apple reduction. But

MassMutual is unusual — only

3 percent of employers have in-

surance plans that cover such

procedures, according to non-

profit The International Foun-

dation of Employee Benefit

Plans.

Trans-inclusive health care

and other policies that speak to

LGBTQ-specific issues may not

benefit all employees at a com-

pany, but formalizing such

practices helps to create an en-

vironment where everyone

feels comfortable, said Lorie

Valle-Yañez, head of diversity

and inclusion at MassMutual.

The company also gives em-

ployees who are adopting chil-

dren eight to 10 weeks of paid

paternity leave to support LG-

BTQ parents instead of only of-

fering it to parents birthing

children. But older employees

who don’t stand to benefit

from the policy don’t always

understand the need for it.

“Every time we do some-

thing good, you’re going to

have somebody saying, ‘No,

that’s not for me,’ ” Valle-Yañez

said. “But we’re saying, it’s not

meant to be everything for ev-

erybody, it’s meant to be some-

thing for everybody.”

Inclusive policies can signal

that a company values every-

one, but they’re not enough to

prevent LGBTQ employees

from being stigmatized or from

facing inappropriate questions

during day-to-day conversa-

tions with colleagues.

“To have to think about

what I did this weekend with

my wife and if I should use the

pronouns she or her, that’s not

being my true self,” said Leslie

Baker, who started the LGBTQ

employee resource group at

Boston-based software compa-

ny PTC.

Many companies justify a

lack of hiring diversity by say-

ing they can’t find enough

qualified people from certain

demographic groups, but di-

versity and inclusion expert

Jennifer Brown said some

firms don’t put enough effort

into it.

“If a company isn’t holding

managers accountable to think

about it, it slips down the pri-

ority list,” she said.

Brown suggested that busi-

nesses compare the percentage

of employees who self-identify

as LGBTQ with benchmark fig-

ures provided by the Human

Rights Campaign’s Corporate

Equality Index.

Once LGBTQ employees get

in the door, they often have to

deal with workplace issues that

range from a lack of gender-

neutral bathrooms to col-

leagues assuming they are

straight. They shouldn’t have

to do that alone, said Brian

Ventura, a product data analyst

at Cambridge-based automo-

tive website CarGurus.

“Queer people of color espe-

cially don’t have access to a lot

of spaces where their issues

can be heard and solutions can

be acted upon,” said Ventura,

who identifies as gay. “So it’s

important to have our allies

who are sometimes able to am-

plify our voices when we can’t

be present.”

Such inclusion doesn’t come

without a financial cost — com-

panies must be willing to in-

vestinteachingemployees

about the nuances of the LG-

BTQ community, Brown said.

Some business are making

the investment. PTC has pub-

lished gender transition guide-

lines to instruct managers and

coworkers on how to support

transitioning employees. The

company has so far trained 200

employees on the guidelines

and sometimes invites clients

to participate in the sessions.

The return on that invest-

ment can be a workplace

where everyone feels accepted,

said Madelyn Glasco, member-

ship manager for the Massa-

chusetts LGBT Chamber of

Commerce.

“It is vitally important to

feel like you are showing up

with your true self so you can

actually get the job done effi-

ciently,” Glasco said.

Allison Hagan can be reached

at [email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@allisonhxgan.

Mass.firmsadaptpoliciestosupportLGBTQemployees

Forty-sixpercent

ofpeoplewho

identifyasLGBTQ

arenotopenlyout

atwork.

By Martin Crutsinger
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The US
economyslowedinthespring,
and most analysts expect it to
weaken further in the months
ahead. Yet the main driver of
growth — consumer spending
— remains vigorous enough to
keep the economy growing
steadily if still modestly.
Spending by households,
which accounts for about 70
percent of economic growth,
accelerated in the April-June
quarter to its fastest pace in
nearly five years. Eventually,
President Trump’s tariffs on
hundreds of billions of dollars
in imports could bring higher
prices and lower consumer
spending. But for now, house-
hold spending remains a vital
pillar of the economy.
The nation’s gross domestic
product — the broadest gauge
of economic health — grew at a
moderate 2 percent annual rate

in the April-June quarter, the

Commerce Department report-

ed Thursday. That was down

from a 3.1 percent growth rate

in the first quarter, but it would

have been weaker without a

burst of consumer demand.

Economists generally expect

growth to slow to a 2 percent

annual rate or less for the rest

of the year. But most think con-

sumer spending will be enough

to offset headwinds ranging

from a slowing global economy

to growing uncertainties

caused by Trump’s trade war

with China.

In the April-June period,

consumer spending shot up to

an annual rate of 4.7 percent,

the best showing since the final

quarter of 2014. The surge fol-

lowed two weak quarters for

spending as car sales sank and

households grew cautious after

a stock market fall and a partial

shutdownofthegovernment.

At the same time, business

investment is weakening in the

face of the uncertainties created

by the taxes that Trump has im-

posed on numerous imports —

goods that many American

businesses rely upon.

Gus Faucher, chief econo-

mist at PNC Financial, said he

expects the trade war to begin

to weigh on consumers in the

second half of this year as some

of Trump’s additional tariffs on

Chinese products take effect

Sunday and others on Dec. 15.

In addition, higher tariffs on a

separate group of Chinese prod-

ucts are to take effect Oct. 1.

Faucher said he thinks

growth is slowing to a 1.5 per-

cent annual rate in the current

quarter and will dip to around a

sluggish 1.3 percent rate in the

fourth quarter.

‘‘On the plus side, consum-

ers remain in good shape...

with solid job growth and good

wage gains,’’ Faucher said. ‘‘But

the higher tariffs are going to

cause consumers to pull back

for a time, especially on big-

ticket items like cars and appli-

ances.’’

But by mid-2020, Faucher

said, he expects spending to

start accelerating as consumers

become used to the higher tar-

iffs. He said he thinks the

strength from such spending

will help avoid a recession.

The latest earnings reports

from retailers show that some

stores are faring better than

others. Discounters are doing

well, with Dollar Tree, Dollar

General, and Five Below all re-

porting solid sales figures in the

most recent quarter.

And although Best Buy man-

aged to post an increase in a key

sales figure, it was overshad-

owed by disappointing revenue

and by concerns about the tar-

iffs. The electronics retailer

lowered its revenue outlook for

the year, citing the expected im-

pact of tariffs.

Economy growing slowly thanks to consumers

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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEMBERS’ MEETING:

THE ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL

ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019, 6PM

at the

ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain, MA

A meeting of the members of the

English High School Association of Boston

will be held at the date, time, and location

noted above for the purpose of discussing the

current and planned activities of the Association.

All members of the Association are invited.

We hope to see you there.