Fridae

Speakers at an HSBC-hosted business summit in Hong Kong have reiterated their belief that respecting the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women is good for business.

"Embracing diversity is simply good for business. The financial sector can play a leadership role in diversity," said HSBC Holdings group chief executive Stuart Gulliver.

"Why limit access to talent because of prejudice? It makes no sense. I want my colleagues to be themselves at work," he said during the recent "Out on the Street" summit in Hong Kong, according to scmp.com.

He said HSBC supports gay colleagues in territories where same-sex relationships are illegal or culturally unacceptable but pointed out that this was done as long as the bank did not break any local laws in providing such support.

HSBC's job application form has also moved on from asking asked candidates whether they were male or female to now including four categories; male, female, androgynous or prefer not to answer.

HSBC is also looking at offering insurance products for LGBT parents and their children, according to Gulliver.

Similarly, James Mirfin, Thomson Reuters managing director pointed out that his company is providing services to the LGBT market through its FindLaw online service that enables customers to search laws on sexual orientation discrimination.

Taran Khera, Bloomberg's head of core product sales for Hong Kong, Macau, Korea and Taiwan said diversity is important for Bloomberg, a US-based news company with more than 15,500 employees worldwide, because it spurs innovation.

He recalled interviewing a South Korean job candidate who could not get a job in his country because of his openness about his sexual orientation."We hired him. He's talented," said Khera adding “We give health benefits to people in same-sex marriages."

Todd Sears, the founder of Out Leadership, a US LGBT advocacy group said: “Anti-gay legislation is bad for business...How can you do business when you're missing talent?"

Sears, a former banker, was quoted by scmp.com as saying that LGBT employees are happier and more productive when they come out about their sexual orientation.

"From a bottom-line perspective, you're better off when your employees are out. Why do you want people to be inefficient in your organization? It's a simple business equation," Sears said. Asia is not known to be very gay-friendly and has many countries that criminalize same-sex relations. Even if countries do not legally censure gay people with jail sentences, community members are far from open and have to live with social discrimination and stigma.

Israel, Taiwan and Thailand are the only states to officially promote themselves as having a gay friendly environment in Asia.