Diversity of ideas is critical to any organization, and diversity comes in many forms – age, race, gender, experiences, background, and heritage, just to name a few. As businesses, to effectively reflect our communities, we must make sure our hiring practices allow us to include people from many types of backgrounds and experiences, as well as consideration for qualification. We must also work to provide opportunities for individuals of every age, race or ethnicity who might need better social resources to help them to achieve their American Dream. But one thing we cannot do as a society is to create laws like Referendum Measure 88 (R-88) that allow for discrimination based on specific characteristics. Deciding who gets to have special rules that apply to one group but not another is divisive in nature and will not unite the people of this state. There are many anti-discrimination laws that should be fully enforced, and as a society, we must reject discrimination wherever it is found. But putting a law into place that actually encourages discrimination is not the right answer. In fact, many Microsoft employees personally donated a total of almost $150,000 to oppose this measure. Please do what you can to add your voice to those of your employees and REJECT Referendum Measure 88 (R-88). We must continue to work together to create a society that values the individual and fosters the ideas that are the foundations of our country.
[Update]: It is a big disappointment to learn that Microsoft recently donated $20K to support divisive R-88. We urge Microsoft to also donate $20K to oppose divisive R-88, and sponsor a debate on R-88.