Greater San Diego Business Administration : Much More in the Mix

The Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) is an organization of LGBT and allied business owners and entrepreneurs working to support one another and ensure that the LGBT community has access to services and products in places where LGBT life and culture are valued.

Founded in 1979, the GSDBA has approximately 800 members who represent every possible profession and business in San Diego. Member Services Coordinator Sue Sneeringer describes the GSDBA this way, "GSDBA is as much a community as it is a business chamber. GSDBA members are loyal and steadfast in their commitment to a code of ethics that stands for diversity and inclusiveness providing quality services and products. Most of our members say they may have joined for business reasons but remain connected to GSDBA because of the sense of community the organization was founded on and is still known for today."

There is still a pressing need for LGBT-positive businesses as there is currently no Federal legislation that protects LGBT employees. Many LGBT people do not feel safe in their work environments and/or remain closeted at work. Indeed Sneeringer argued passionately that organizations like the GSDBA are very much needed.

"While an overwhelming share of America's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults say society has become more accepting of them in the past decade, a new nationally-representative survey of LGBT adults offers testimony to the many ways they feel they have been stigmatized by society. About four in ten say that at some point in their lives they were rejected by a family member or close friend because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 30 percent say they have been physically attacked or threatened; 29 percent say they have been made to feel unwelcome in a place of worship and 21 percent say they have been treated unfairly by an employer. About six-in-ten (58 percent) say they've been the target of slurs or jokes.* Until LGBT individuals are completely accepted by mainstream society, there will be a need for organizations like GSDBA. The annual GSDBA Directory is an excellent resource for searching out businesses and services that are owned by local LGBT and supportive people."

She continued, "As an organization the GSDBA allows for members of our community to actively seek out and support LGBT-friendly businesses, many of which support equality initiatives such as ENDA or marriage equality. The GSDBA also creates and distributes an invaluable annual resource guide that lists LGBT-friendly business and non-profits in San Diego, which makes LGBT-friendly shopping a breeze! The GSDBA also provides important opportunities to network and meet local business owners through their mixers and luncheons which allow for people in the business world and the non-profit world to connect and learn how to work together toward LGBT-positive goals."

Sneeringer also shared, "Throughout the years, the GSDBA and its members have been involved in many community-based struggles, taking on the responsibility of the Harvey Milk Scholarship Fund in 1979; addressing the University of California in support of Dr. Chris Matthews, founder of the Owens Clinic; hosting a number of Mayoral and City Council election debates; taking on employment discrimination in 1984; defeating Proposition 64; the LaRouche AIDS initiative in 1986; joining the San Diego Chamber of Commerce in 1993; supporting the lifting of the ban on gays and lesbians in the military; to advocacy for Marriage Equality."

With so much need for LGBT-friendly businesses and employers, supporting the GSDBA should be an easy decision. It's an organization with a progressive agenda, deep roots in the San Diego LGBT community and a bright future ahead.
Watch for the upcoming GSDBA New Year Mixer on Thursday, January 16 and celebrate 2014 at the fabulous, Top of the Park before it closes for good! For more information on this event and others, or to learn more about the GSDBA and its members, go to gsdba.org.

(*Source: pewsocialtrends.org/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/)