Celebrating the Marriage Equality Decision in the Private Sector

The Supreme Court today issued its historic decision on marriage equality, holding that “the Constitution does not permit the State to bar same-sex couples from marriage on the same terms as accorded to couples of the opposite sex.”  Understandably, attention has focused on what the court’s decision means for same-sex couples. Less scrutiny has been paid to how important this decision is to the private sector.  Yet, it is precisely that importance why PwC joined more than 300 other employers on an amicus brief urging the court to rule the way it did.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court’s majority frequently focused on the private, personal reasons individuals choose to marry and the harm the LGBT community suffered by laws forbidding same-sex marriages or their recognition.  In addition to its stated reasoning, the majority might also have explained the material, negative impact the prohibitions had on the LGBT community’s ability to participate in American commerce and on the economy itself.

Economically, marriage inequality was bad for the private sector and American competitiveness.  PwC’s experience was emblematic: state laws that prohibited same-sex marriage hampered our efforts to recruit and retain the most talented people, caused us to incur significant expenses to ensure our LGBT employees received equal benefits from state to state, and inhibited our ability to deploy our people in states that prohibited or did not recognize same-sex marriages.

For these and related reasons, marriage inequality was expected to cost the private sector $1 billion this year alone. As of today, however, American businesses can now invest that $1 billion where it belongs – directly into products, services, and people. At PwC, we will now stop spending time and money addressing inconsistent state laws. We will now start investing these resources in ways that contribute to driving our growth and providing our people with additional means to help them deliver the highest quality service possible.

Perhaps most importantly, for us and so many other businesses, this decision helps us bring more diverse thinking from talented people to solve the important challenges facing our clients, our stakeholders, and society as a whole. Recognizing how critical a diverse workforce is to our firm's success, PwC did not wait for this landmark ruling to create an inclusive environment for all our people. In 1998, we began offering domestic partner health benefits, and made these available to both gay and straight couples. More than a decade ago, PwC became the first of the Big Four to form an LGBT Partner Advisory Board. We were also the first of the Big Four to extend tax equalization benefits to gay and straight staff with domestic partners to compensate those who lived in non-recognition states for the taxes they were required to pay on the value of healthcare benefits we provided their domestic partners and spouses.

The nation today is of course focusing on what this decision means for individuals and their families. As the court’s majority said in its closing, “[n]o union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.” Yet, make no mistake: this was a memorable day for American businesses as well. As of today, a large impediment to recruiting the best and brightest to where they are most needed is gone.  Now it’s time for us to seize the opportunities we’ve been given.