Two important trends facing Wall Street are the expansion of LGBT employee rights over the past decade and its entry into non-traditional banking centers. These trends are interrelated and profoundly affect the LGBT community. Because Wall Street has significantly improved its treatment of LGBT employees, it has the opportunity to share this attitude of acceptance as it expands into new markets. The 1980s were known for rampant homophobia on Wall Street, where traders routinely shouted “faggot” on the trading floor. and a closed culture prevailed in all companies. In 1983, a small group of gay bankers formed an anonymous support group called the New York Bankers Trust. Bankers Trust meetings were held in private homes and mailings were addressed to "Mr." and "Ma'am." because many underground male bankers pretended to be married to women. This macho-driven homophobic culture continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, even as society became more accepting of gays and lesbians. In 1999, there was one openly gay member of the 1,365-member New York Stock Exchange. And although many banks had, on paper, banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, a 1999 New York Magazine article reported widespread discrimination, lawsuits, fear of harassment, and underrepresentation of openly gay men and women. After the turn of the millennium, things began to change. Quickly. In 2002, JP Morgan led the way and was the first bank to receive a perfect score on HRC's Corporate Equality Index. In 2003, Lehman Brothers joined. In 2004, Deutsche Bank, Citi, UBS, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs joined. The dam had been broken. A 2006 Bloomberg article noted this shift and suggested some important catalysts: social changes, such as same-sex marriage, … at the center of the paper … in these areas. I believe that if banks offered LGBT benefits, citizens would see these policies and respond positively through the political process to advance gay rights. In addition to offering equal benefits, banks can take the next step and speak out where they see an injustice, as they have done in the United States. Gay rights do not exist in a vacuum. Many articles I read linked the decline in sexual harassment of women to the acceptance of gays and lesbians in the workplace. Likewise, in many countries where gays and lesbians are imprisoned or executed, women are treated as second-class citizens, subject to female genital mutilation and high rates of illiteracy. Because banks have promoted gay rights in their local regions, such as New York State, they can work to expand gay rights into new markets. This is an important mission for banks and I want to be part of it.