Employee-Led groups drive LGBTQIA+ inclusion and allyship

The Boeing Employees Pride Alliance (BEPA) is our longest-running employee-led Business Resource Group as well as one of our largest. In 2021, BEPA extended its global reach, launching new chapters in Australia, Europe and India.

BEPA’s 20 chapters connect thousands of LGBTQIA+ teammates and allies across the globe to provide personal and professional development and networking opportunities for their members, creating a forum where teammates motivate and mentor one another and continuously advocate for LGBTQIA+ issues that affect our workforce. Local chapters also promote activities that raise awareness for the LGBTQIA+ community and increase the number of allies at all levels at Boeing.

The Boeing Employees Transgender Alliance (BETA), a subset of BEPA, provides support for the transgender community. In March 2018, a dedicated group of transgender employees established BETA, as a safe space for transgender and nonbinary employees to support one another and discuss their unique challenges and successes. They also act as an internal consulting group to help inform benefits and resources to support the broader transgender community at Boeing. In August 2020, BETA assisted with establishing another employee community group, Boeing Employees with Transgender Family Members (BETFaM). BETFaM creates a safe space for Boeing employees to discuss unique challenges facing their transgender or non-binary child or spouse or partner and to provide education, resources and support within a group of people with shared experiences.

Accelerating equity, diversity and inclusion for all

At Boeing we’re committed to ensuring an inclusive environment for employees of all backgrounds and identities, and we are a proud supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. As part of this commitment, Boeing provides industry-leading benefits that suit the diverse needs of our employees, including LGBTQIA+ employees and their families. In 2021, Boeing expanded eligibility for certain benefits to cover all qualifying domestic partners of U.S. employees. These benefits include features of the company’s health, life and accident insurance programs, as well as retirement, relocation, and leave of absence benefits.

Boeing offers gender affirmation benefits for eligible employees and their dependents in accordance with WPATH standards of care. In 2021, we created a Gender Affirmation Team and re-evaluated processes and procedures to ensure procedures were inclusive of non-binary identities. The Gender Affirmation Team helps employees navigate processes while affirming their gender in the workplace and supports managers and teammates by providing educational opportunities.

As Boeing continues to strengthen inclusion for all teammates, we now offer additional voluntary self-identification options, including gender identity and sexual orientation, to all employees in the U.S. so that we can better understand and support our workforce. In 2021, 7.1% of eligible employees participated in the gender identity self-ID and 6.1% participated in the sexual orientation self-ID.

With this step, our goals are to educate, normalize and destigmatize concepts of gender identity and orientation. This also helps Boeing monitor progress toward full inclusion and equity across our teams, and we hope to expand self-identification options internationally in locations where it is safe for our teammates to do so. We encourage teammates to self-identify to give us a more accurate understanding of our workforce so we can better support them. Recent improvements based on teammate feedback include reinstating domestic partnership benefits, expanding our gender affirmation support, and developing a protocol for all-gender single stall restrooms.

Boeing is an active partner with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, whose sole focus is on LGBTQIA+ workplace equity. Boeing participates annually in the Workplace Summit, which brings together people from all over the world to connect and discuss workplace advocacy for LGBTQIA+ employees. In 2021, BETFaM was recognized by Out & Equal as the winner of the prestigious “New Employee Resource Group of the Year” Award.

In 2022, Boeing earned a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and was named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQIA+ Equality”.

In 1989, a group of employees formed the Boeing Bonsai Club, a covert club for LGBTQIA+ employees seeking support and camaraderie. The group sought official recognition in the late 1980s, but their application was denied. They welcomed members to the Bonsai Club until company policies changed to make Boeing a more welcoming and inclusive place.

Decades later, the Boeing Bonsai Club grew into the Boeing Employees Pride Alliance, an employee-led Business Resource Group connecting thousands of employees in 20 chapters to foster a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for LGBTQIA+ employees; increase the number of allies at all levels at Boeing; and advocate for LGBTQIA+ issues that affect our workforce.

Today, Boeing continues to support the LGBTQIA+ community and strengthen inclusion to empower every teammate to reach their full potential.