In November 2013, the sports apparel company created Nike Equality PAC, with a total of $280,000 funding; $100,000 were donated from Nike Inc. and the remaining $180,000 from Nike Leaders. The campaign is in support of marriage equality in Oregon, USA, to fight the discrimination faced by those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Nike are committed to creating a safe environment for their employees by treating everyone equally, the company explains, as bringing diversity into the workforce brings about a drive for innovation, pushing creativity in the office. In supporting the Nike Equality PAC, the company strives for equity among employees and avoid discrimination in the office as well as in the state. In addition, its employees have a choice of whether to support the Nike Equality PAC, to submit their voices through the company in full support of same-sex marriages.
Earlier in the year, Nike were involved in the Oregon Initiative: The Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative, allowing more freedom for same-sex couples without interfering with their religious beliefs. Nike also has a long lineage of history where they advocated for non-discriminatory campaigns that involved equality in the office.
Dating back to twenty years ago, Nike became one of the first companies to provide benefits to couples of both genders. They are involved in several campaigns to support marriage equality, including those recognised by government. In 2005 the company pioneered Oregon’s legislation of non-discriminatory employment for the LGBTQ+ community and civil union for same-sex couples.
Nike has achieved 100% scores from the Human Rights Campaign, and has been actively involved in the government recognizing same-sex marriage in the US.