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Golden Corridor | ROX! Magazine
ACCESS ARIZONA:
PINAL COUNTY IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS TO EVERYONE By Jim Dinkle, Executive Director
A
CCESS ARIZONA joined the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), the Arizona Technology Council, the Arizona Small Business Association, the Arizona Tourism and Lodging Association, American Airlines, Apple, Intel, Delta Airlines and many other business interests in urging Governor Jan Brewer’s veto of Senate Bill 1062. Simply stated, Pinal County is open for business to everyone. The GLBT community objected fiercely to SB1062. This segment accounts for 1.4 million business owners in the United States. The total buying power or disposable personal income of the adult U.S. LGBT population is projected at $830 billion.An estimated 16 million Americans identify themselves as being LGBT. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 87 percent of LGBT adults would consider a brand that has equal benefits for LGBT employees. In addition, 47 percent of LGBT adults are more
likely to purchase a company’s products or services when an advertisement has been tailored to an LGBT audience. Further, 23 percent of LGBT adults have switched products or services in the past year because a different company was supportive of the LGBT community.Even if a brand is costlier or less convenient, 71 percent of LGBT people would remain loyal to that brand should they be supportive of and friendly to LGBT issues. This is clearly a consumer segment wielding enormous economic power. According to Business Insider, the LGBT community has a 23 percent higher median household income and 24 percent more equity in their homes than the American general market. A survey conducted by Prudential in 2012 found that gays were more likely to have higher educations, to carry less debt, to have more savings and were less likely to be jobless
with an unemployment rate of almost a point below the national percentage. Many local employers and corporations doing business in Pinal County know the value of the LGBT community by having domestic partner benefits programs. These include, but are not limited to, Abbott Laboratories, FritoLay/Pepsico, Central Arizona College, Casa Grande Regional Medical Center, Daisy Brand, Monsanto, APS, Hospice of the Valley, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Walgreens, Target, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Staples, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Fry’s, Verizon and AT&T. I remember a quote from Bishop Desmond Tutu, who said, “Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people?” Pinal County is open for business to everyone. We embrace diversity.
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The nation’s explosive region for growth. Multimodal access. SolidThe infrastructure. Skilled workforce. Collaborative nation’s explosive regionlocal forleadership. growth.
Multimodal access. Solid infrastructure. Skilled workforce. Collaborative local leadership.