121 More Companies Sign Statement Opposing Trump’s Transgender Policy

Almost 200 companies have added their names to a statement addressing the Trump administration and their proposed policy to erase transgender people from legal protections, reported Fortune.

At the beginning of November, 56 companies signed the Business Statement for Transgender Equality, calling “for respect and transparency in policy-making, and for equality under the law for transgender, gender-nonbinary, and intersex people.”

On Tuesday (November 13), 121 companies joined these 56 by adding their names. These companies have a total of 7 million employees and a collective annual revenue of more than $3.2 trillion.

Founder of Out Leadership, Todd Sears, expressed his support of the move in a statement.

“We’re deeply inspired to see so many of the world’s leading companies speaking with a united voice in support and defense of transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex people,” he said. “The business community is serving as a crucial backstop for hard-earned progress on LGBT+ equality – because inclusive cultures are more innovative, more productive, and more efficient, and because it’s the right thing to do.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 66 percent of Fortune 500 companies – which collectively employ nearly 25 million people – prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Among the ten largest publicly-traded companies, six prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.