What is Pennsylvania Competes?
Pennsylvania Competes is a 501(c)(4) that is bringing together businesses and citizens to support passage of the Pennsylvania Fairness Act. This bill will update the state’s Human Relations Act of 1955 to ensure that all citizens regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, disability, and now – sexual orientation, gender identity and expression – can participate in the state’s economy.
What businesses support Pennsylvania Competes?
Why should my business participate in Pennsylvania Competes?
When Pennsylvania competes, Pennsylvania wins. Whether we are attracting new jobs and company relocations or growing entire new industry sectors like energy and manufacturing, an inclusive Pennsylvania ensures a more economically vibrant Pennsylvania.
In addition, with dozens of varying nondiscrimination ordinances in municipalities across Pennsylvania, one uniform statewide nondiscrimination brings certainty to employers and makes Pennsylvania competitive with all other states in the Northeast.
Support Opportunities:
Sign the Pledge. The Pennsylvania Competes corporate pledge unites Pennsylvania’s business community in supporting fairness in all workplaces and keeping the Keystone State economically competitive across the country and around the world. Signatories will be added to the Pennsylvania Competes website, along with company logos on the business coalition page of the site.
Education and Outreach. As a corporate supporter, you will receive educational information from Pennsylvania Competes around nondiscrimination best practices in the workplace. You also will be kept up-to-date on relevant information related to nondiscrimination from across Pennsylvania and the country.
Events and Sponsorship. To support efforts to have Pennsylvania join the growing number of states passing nondiscrimination legislation, Pennsylvania Competes will be hosting high-profile events with sponsorship opportunities for businesses and corporate partners. These regional events will raise awareness about the issue among Pennsylvania’s business leaders and feature national leaders. As financial supporters, your company’s logo can be added to the Pennsylvania Competes website, marketing materials and event sponsorship signage and materials.
An inclusive Pennsylvania is crucial to:
Attracting a vibrant and talented workforce. Case in point – the millennial generation – our newest highly talented members of the workforce – overwhelmingly support protections for LGBT people in employment, housing, and other areas of life.
Enticing entrepreneurs and company relocations to the Keystone State. Pennsylvania is the only state of the nine states in the northeast without inclusive nondiscrimination protections for all.
Providing certainty for employers. Simplifies and provides statewide uniformity to nondiscrimination policies in the workplace.
Growing Pennsylvania’s economy. Currently the commonwealth has an annual $644 billion economy – the 18th largest in the world. Let’s make it bigger and stronger!
We commend the many Pennsylvania mayors, lawmakers, businesses, academic institutions and nonprofits who support adoption of the Pennsylvania Fairness Act, an update of the Human Relations Act originally written in 1955.The update would grant protection from discrimination in housing, employment and business services to gay and transgender people.
As the proposed law’s supporters point out, it’s not only fair and morally right, but also would be good for business in Pennsylvania. Read the Full Editorial
The Pennsylvania Fairness Act, which would protect all state residents from discrimination, remains bottled up in House and Senate committees, where it has languished for far too long… Every right-minded state resident should join him in demanding they move now to bring these long-overdue bills to the floor. There could be no better time.
Read the Full Editorial
Pennsylvania businesses also support the Pa. Fairness Act because having an inclusive workplace helps attract and retain quality employees.In 15 years, more than 70 percent of the national workforce will be composed of millennials, the release notes, which means "...Pennsylvania’s policies must support the reality of the economic marketplace and be positioned as a strong economic competitor in attracting the highly skilled millennial workforce or face the likely negative economic consequences" Read the Full Editorial
It seems like a no-brainer that legislation should be passed to protect the civil rights of all the commonwealth’s citizens against discrimination.
Read the Full Editorial
Business leaders and residents continue to voice their support for legislation that would ensure employment and housing protections to gay and transgender individuals.
It’s time our lawmakers do so, too.
Read the Full Editorial
So, even though same sex couples can marry in the commonwealth, they have no legal recourse against discrimination on equally important matters, such as employment and housing... The Legislature should act this year to close that gap in Pennsylvania’s anti-discrimination laws.
Read the Full Editorial