The following article was taken from the Wilmington, Delaware,
News-Journal of Monday, March 22 (p.D5) without permission.

"Du Pont insists on respect for all its workers, whatever their orientation"
by Maureen Milford, business reporter.

During his 12 years with the Du Pont company, Robert L. Hill spent 10 years
hiding.
        As a gay man in a workplace created by heterosexual men, Hill, 30,
had to put a portion of his time and energy into keeping his sexual
orientation as secret.
        "Your co-workers will say, 'What did you do over the weekend?'
You either have to change the subject or make up lies.  All gay and
lesbian workers go through this.  You just learn not to talk about anything
non-business," Hill said.
        But in 1991 Hill decided he no longer wanted society to tell him
"what to be."
        Not without knowledge of the risk, Hill launched a bisexual, gay,
and lesbian organization within Du Pont.
        "It was a personal decision I had to make.  This was more
important to me that the fear of losing my job," Hill said.
        Last summer, the organization was instrumental in getting Du Pont
to amend its anti-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation.
        Most Fortune 500 companies do have such policies, Hill said,
including Hewlett-Packard Co., American Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
Eastman-Kodak Co., Digital Equipment Corp., and Oracle Corp.
        Some also have strong gay and lesbian employee groups that
exchange information with each other.  But they are rare.
        Only 4.9 per cent of organizations support gay and lesbian
employee groups within the workplace, according to a survey done by the
Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va.
        Companies with written policies that prohibit discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation represent just 38 per cent of these
organizations, the survey said.
        Faith A. Wohl, director of work force partnering with Du Pont,
said approximately 500 companies now have "specific and explicit" policies
dealing with sexual orientation discrimination."
        "This is very definitely an issue that is coming to the fore both
in society and in the corporate world," Wohl said.
        With the issue of gay employees getting more attention, the
society felt it necessary to survey a cross-section of its members.  The
human resource organization is expected to formulate its own policy within
the next few months.
        Unlike other aspects of diversity in the workplace, the gay and
lesbian issue can be particularly "sensitive," Wohl said.
        Individual attitudes often boil down to whether a person views a
gay and lesbian lifestyle as a matter of choice or a biological
imperative.  Attitudes are often intertwined with religious and moral
beliefs.
        In its diversity training, which stresses the uniqueness of all
individuals, Du Pont tells employees they do not have to abandon their
personal beliefs.  But they must treat fellow employees with respect while
they're on Du Pont time.
        The human resource society said most diversity programs do not
address the issues of gays and lesbians in the workplace.  Only 16 per
cent of the companies with diversity programs deal with gay and lesbian
awareness.
        When it comes to company benefits for gay and lesbian couples, the
numbers get even smaller.  Du Pont does not offer benefits to any
"domestic" partner, whether heterosexual, gay, or lesbian.
        According to me survey, only 2 per cent of forms offer health
coverage for domestic partners.  Nine per cent offer bereavement leave for
the death of a gay or lesbian partner.  Neither do companies offer
relocation assistance, employee discounts, or use of organization
facilities for gay and lesbian partners.
        Benefits for domestic partners is likely to become increasingly
important in the coming years, according to gay and lesbian workers.
        "We need the force of the law," said Scott Martin, a volunteer
coordinator with the Delaware Lesbian and Gay Health Advocates, which is
concerned with fighting AIDS.
                          ______________
Gary Geise                \ queer and  /  "...any Christian in any society
University of Delaware     \ quarrel- /    must be able to discriminate, and
Morris Library Stacking     \  some  /     you must be able to hate, because
Newark, Delaware 19717       \      /      that's what the Bible says.  Hatred
(302) 831-2470                \    /       in itself is not a bad quality."
gggeist@bach.udel.edu          \  /          -Bernhard Kuiper, a CO minister,
                                \/             in defense of CO Amendment 2