The five-judge panel of Hong Kong’s top court is now debating whether or not to accept international same-sex marriages.
Their verdict, anticipated later this year, may encourage Asian financial centres like Tokyo and Singapore to write more inclusive rules to attract the varied, global talent that banks and tech companies are eager to acquire and keep.
The contributions of corporations are enormous. According to Janet Ledger, CEO of Community Business, a non-profit group that promotes diversity and inclusion in enterprises throughout Asia, “they still drive the conversation in a lot of these countries where the legislators aren’t.”
In Asia, where traditional values still dominate politics and culture, same-sex partnerships are legal only in Taiwan and Nepal.
However, some nations have recently taken inclusive steps, such as India, where the highest court is currently debating whether to legalize same-sex marriage in the world’s most populous nation, South Korea, where lawmakers proposed a same-sex marriage bill in May, and Singapore, which last year repealed a law from the British colonial era that criminalized sex between men.
A survey conducted this year in Hong Kong found that over 60% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, nearly doubling the figure from 2013. This increase in support may be attributed in part to the five-year court struggle waged by democracy and LGBTQ rights campaigner Jimmy Sham to get his New York marriage recognized at home.
As the first major LGBTQ-focused event in Asia, the Gay Games will take place in Hong Kong for the first time this November, and if the Court of Final Appeal finds in Sham’s favor, the city will be the most progressive among its financial center counterparts in terms of LGBTQ rights, activists and companies believe.
“Hong Kong has a real opportunity to take the lead here and give a clear message,” said Gigi Chao, vice chair of listed Hong Kong property company Cheuk Nang Holdings and major LGBT rights campaigner in Asia.
I know we will succeed in the end,” Chao stated.
Sober up!
There has been a rise in the number of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japanese business organizations arguing that Asia’s top economies should take stronger steps to promote diversity.
Corporations are considered as a crucial driver of change in Japan, the only Group of Seven country without legal protection for same-sex partnerships, as Tokyo strives to strengthen its power as a worldwide financial hub.
“Japan’s recognition of marriage equality would raise its profile in Asia-Pacific,” the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, whose members include over 600 enterprises, stated.
Reporting that “Japan cannot afford to lose talent to their global competitors,” the country should take care to prevent its best and brightest from leaving the country.
A survey this year by Kyodo news agency of slightly over 1,500 respondents found that about 70% backed same-sex marriage.
However, several MPs, including members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, have spoken out against these unions, citing their respect for traditional family values as their reason for doing so.
Moriaki Kida, CEO and chairwoman of EY Japan, remarked, “For LGBTQ people, Japan is not considered an easy location.”
The company’s “headquarters must awaken and instill values, purpose, and then also their employee policies that are encompassing everywhere in the world,” Kida added.
Money and power in politics
Human Rights Watch reports that South Korea’s absence of legislative safeguards against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity compounds the difficulties LGBTQ individuals experience in that country.
A May Gallup survey found that 40% of South Koreans favor legalizing same-sex marriage; nevertheless, any change to the legislation would need the approval of the political parties, who are often in tight alliance with conservative religious organizations.
“South Korea has a history of, and will continue to experience, rapid transformation. Politics is the only thing standing in the way,” said Kiyong Shim, a member of the LGBTQ youth group Dawoom in Seoul.
Activists claim that corporations demonstrate their support for LGBTQ rights by sponsoring LGBTQ events and using the Pride theme in their advertising. However, corporations seldom contact Asian governments directly on the issue.
Although foreign people are not permitted to attend the annual Pink Dot gathering in Singapore and foreign corporations are not permitted to sponsor the march, 91 companies still did so in support of the LGBTQ community and its supporters.
Foreign nationals may take part in the commercial Pink Fest event, which this year includes a jobs fair hosted by WeWork and sponsored by Dyson, Nomura and Standard Chartered Bank.
Since the government of Singapore repealed the statute criminalizing sex between males, members of the LGBTQ community report feeling more comfortable in their identities and more willing to spend money.
However, the government also modified the constitution to ensure that only parliament can decide on the definition of marriage, making any judicial cases advocating for weddings between people of the same sex fruitless.
They think corporations are best positioned to persuade business-minded governments like Singapore’s, but campaigners admit it takes time to change established norms.
Society as a whole benefits from tolerance, according to Kathy Teo, who founded Singapore’s first LGBTQ chamber of business.
Companies including Google, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and the fintech business Revolut are members of Teo’s “Q Chamber,” which he founded to promote LGBTQ inclusion in the workplace.
Who value diversity, inclusion, and creativity and seek out communities that foster them.