Global LGBTQIA+ Employee & Allies at Microsoft

Global LGBTQIA+ Employee & Allies at Microsoft (formerly Gay and Lesbian Employees At Microsoft) (GLEAM) refers to the Microsoft employee resource group comprising LGBTQIA+ employees along with straight allies. GLEAM originated as a private mailing list during the 1980s. Members of the list successfully campaigned for sexual orientation to be added to Microsoft's anti-discrimination policy in 1989. In 1997, group leaders pointed out that anti-gay actions had occurred, but "overt bias is extremely rare."

GLEAM also lobbied for Microsoft to offer insurance and other benefits to same-sex domestic partners. Lobbying intensified after Lotus software offered these benefits to its workers. Microsoft added this benefit in 1993.

GLEAM became more formally organized in 1993 under Microsoft's Diversity Advisory Council, along with Blacks at Microsoft (BAM), the women's group – known as Hoppers – and other similar groups.

More recently, the group influenced Microsoft to add gender identity and expression to its anti-discrimination policies in April 2005 and, in 2006, to progressively extend health coverage benefits to cover transgender care. Since this time, the Human Rights Campaign has Microsoft's Corporate Equality Index rating – a set of metrics to measure a company's compliance with its goals of gender identity neutrality in the workplace – to 100%.