IBM's Irwin Drucker
Looking back, it wasn't a stretch for IBM to create this new category of suppliers. After all, the information technology giant had been offering partner benefits for years, making it a comfortable place for gays and lesbians to work.
"IBM is a very unusual company. We started programs at IBM both for employees and for suppliers long before it was federally mandated," says Drucker, program director, GLBT and international programs, supplier diversity, IBM Global Procurement.
LGBT leaders say supplier diversity closes the circle of corporate commitment to LGBT issues, coming after their efforts to market to LGBT consumers and to implement pro-LGBT policies in the workplace. "GLBT consumers tend to be more brand loyal than the average consumer," says Drucker, a second-generation employee who began his career with IBM in 1983. "It makes a very compelling business argument that if you spend with the GLBT community, they will spend with you."
NGLCC Certification: Putting LGBT Businesses On The Map
The question still remained. Where would Drucker find LGBT businesses? "The first three years were very difficult," he acknowledges. There were no prominent LGBT organizations like the NGLCC to use as a credible resource. "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sometimes my `gaydar' would work but for the most part, after three years, we had only six identified GLBT suppliers," Drucker says.
Not anymore. Today, IBM has more than 200 LGBT-certified suppliers in its procurement database and most of them came through the NGLCC. He learned of the newly founded NGLCC from a 2002 article in OUT magazine and arranged a meeting with the NGLCC leadership in Washington. Drucker knew that if he liked what he saw and heard, he had authority to make a financial commitment. IBM became a founding sponsor of the new chamber that same day.
"Obviously," Drucker says, "[IBM's involvement] lends tremendous credence within the Fortune 500 community, and I hope our membership made it easier to get some of the other corporate members to sign up."
Continuing with its commitment, IBM is also a founding sponsor of the International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered in Montreal.
Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell, the founders of NGLCC, couldn't agree more.
"IBM is our first founding corporate partner," says Nelson. "If IBM hadn't gotten involved at that critical point, there would not be an NGLCC today. They've led the way in terms of advocacy for LGBT businesses to be included in their diverse supplier chain, they've been a mentor to other corporations and they've certainly been a mentor to the NGLCC in having a world class supplier program."
Supplier Diversity Trending Toward LGBT Business
Supplier diversity managers are increasingly focusing their programs toward LGBT-owned businesses. A total of 304 corporations indicated that they have supplier diversity programs, according to the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index 2007. Twenty percent of those programs include LGBT-owned companies, up from 17 percent in 2006.
The NGLCC Supplier Diversity Initiative (SDI) was modeled after the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification programs. "The flagship product we offer has been just what corporate America is looking for," says Mitchell, "creating an avenue for our corporate sponsors to seek out our member businesses."
Certification as an LGBT Business Enterprise gives small businesses the opportunity to compete for sourcing contracts with the NGLCC's Corporate Supplier Diversity Partners. These corporate partners are committed to creating a diverse supply chain which is inclusive of LGBT businesses.
For corporations like IBM, the increase in access to the LGBT market through certification is measurable. "This year, for the first time, we are exceeding our target for…GLBT [businesses]. Right now we are running at 165% of target and we would not be there without the NGLCC, no question about it."
