Bosses of big business in the US are publicly supporting gay rights to prevent damage being done to their brands.

At a conference promoting gay rights on Wall Street in New York City yesterday (29 April), bosses of several banks said gay-friendly workplaces were vital to attract young employees and keep good workers.

Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, said LGBT equality is not only a civil rights issue but a business issue.

‘To be successful, we must attract, retain and promote from the broadest pool of talent available,’ he said. ‘We have no factories or plant equipment, all we have is human capital,’

James Turley, the chief executive of Ernst & Young, is also on the executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America and opposes their ban on gay people.

‘I felt it was important to spell out my position because I did not want to do damage to the Ernst & Young brand,’ Turley told the Out on the Street conference, as reported by The Times (£).

‘As a company, we have to care bout these things because we are competing for people.

‘This is about acquiring and retaining talent and having a culture that lets people be themselves. It is not just about tolerating different perspectives.’

While there may be some American companies, like Chick-fil-A, who stay in the embrace of religious conservatives, more Wall Street firms are taking a stand.

300 companies, including 14 Wall Street firms, called on the US Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Prop 8.

Irene Dorner, the head of HSBC in the United States, said: ‘My job is to create an environment where everybody can thrive. If you ignore this as a chief executive, you are insane.

‘The old mentality and way of doing things is what got us — the banking industry — here. We could probably do with a different approach.’

Gay Star News are media partners of Out In The Street.