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Salesforce joins Apple and Google in protesting Trump’s anti-transgender order

But tech’s protests against the discriminatory move are quieter than those against the immigration ban.

The Dinner For Equality Co-Hosted By Patricia Arquette And Marc Benioff
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who was attending The Dinner For Equality last year, is a strong LGBT advocate.
Mike Windle/Getty Images for Weinstein Carnegie Philanthropic Group

Salesforce, the enterprise company that has taken high-profile stands against anti-LGBT initiatives in states like Indiana and North Carolina, was the third tech giant to come out against President Donald Trump’s move this week to repeal guidelines around transgender bathroom use in public schools.

Said Salesforce in a statement: “Every child deserves an opportunity to succeed free of fear, anxiety, and threats of discrimination. Salesforce strongly believes that all students, including transgender students, should be treated as equals, and we disagree with any effort to limit their rights. Equality for all.”

Apple was the first to speak out last night, followed by Google this morning.

Said Apple: “Apple believes everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination. We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections.”

Said Google: “We've long advocated for policies that provide equal rights and treatment for all. We're deeply concerned to see a roll-back in transgender students' rights."

In addition, CEO Marc Benioff posted this on Twitter, which was followed by Salesforce’s statement.

All three companies have been big supporters of LGBT rights, loudly opposing a number of state efforts to limit them last year and threatening economic boycotts too.

But except for their public support in these statements, none of the companies announced any other moves to push back after Trump revoked transgender bathroom guidelines. They were put in place last year by President Barack Obama and encouraged public schools to allow students to use the bathroom corresponding with the gender they identify with. Schools that failed to do so were at risk of losing public funding.

But the strong statements from top tech companies are still important, even if they are a lot smaller in number than widespread reaction to Trump’s immigration ban, which has faced intense opposition and is now in legal limbo.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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