VF recently announced its support of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office to provide equal rights and fair treatment standards for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people – furthering its commitment to inclusion and diversity.

The standards build on the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and reflect the input of companies across diverse sectors. The five standards of conduct are:

• Respect human rights of LGBTI workers, customers and community members
• Eliminate discrimination against LGBTI employees in the workplace
• Support LGBTI staff at work
• Eliminate discrimination against LGBTI customers, suppliers and distributors
• Stand up for human rights of LGBTI people in the public sphere

“VF fully supports the UN’s LGBTI Standards for Business, which reflect our commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace culture for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation,” said Reggie Miller, Senior Director, Global Inclusion & Diversity. “Everyone has a role to play in advancing equal human rights, and we’re proud to do our part and lead by example with our actions.”

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “If we are to achieve faster global progress towards equality for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and intersex people, businesses will not only have to meet their human rights responsibilities, they must become active agents of change.”

VF currently supports other programs that celebrate inclusion and diversity, including the Camber Outdoors CEO Pledge, CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, and Paradigm for Parity, which focuses on gender parity in corporate leadership. Additionally, VF is consistently recognized as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign and its annual Corporate Equality Index.

Learn more about the UN’s global standards of conduct and VF’s commitment to inclusion and diversity.