Council for Global Equality is a Washington, D.C.-based LGBT advocacy group comprised of a variety of left-of-center and LGBT organizations, including Human Rights Campaign and Open Society Foundations. ¹ The Council advocates for a U.S. foreign policy focused on LGBT issues ² as well as policies that promote LGBT inclusion. ³

History and Activities

Council for Global Equality advocates for a left-of-center LGBT diplomatic, economic, and cultural policy agenda in Washington, D.C. and around the world. ⁴ This includes advocating for the legalization of same-sex relations where currently illegal, promoting access to HIV/AIDS treatment, promoting LGBT activism in U.S. foreign policy, ² conducting media campaigns to praise pro-LGBT policy and condemn policies that contravene left-of-center ideas of inclusion, ³ and urging corporations to become advocates for LGBT issues. ⁵

The Council partnered with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights’ Center for Health and Gender Equity in 2020 to sue the Trump administration’s State Department Commission on Unalienable Human Rights. The organizations filed a lawsuit to prevent the government from focusing on threats to religious freedom in its foreign policy. ⁶

Organizational Members

Council for Global Equity is comprised of at least 35 left-leaning and LGBT organizations. These include Amnesty International USA, a non-governmental organization focused on advancing left-of-center policies like liberalization of immigration of immigration and refugee policies, enactment of strict gun control laws, and releasing convicted criminals from prison; Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank with strong ties to the Democratic Party establishment; Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a left-of-center media monitoring group promoting the favorable representation of LGBT figures in media; Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBT-interest activist organization; Human Rights Watch, a left-of-center nonprofit organization; the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, an advocacy organization which works to increase the influence of LGBT individuals and initiatives in corporate America and American society; American Jewish World Service, an international philanthropic organization that funds left-of-center social activist initiatives abroad; the Anti-Defamation League, a group criticized for moving past its roots as an antisemitism watchdog to becoming a broad-spectrum left-leaning pressure group; the Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a left-of-center, LGBT-focused education group; Immigration Equality, an LGBT-focused immigration advocacy group that provides legal assistance for LGBT asylum seekers; Open Society Foundations, a private grantmaking foundation created and funded by billionaire financier and liberal philanthropist George Soros; and Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, a nonprofit charitable organization that works to realize the dream of former Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) of a peaceful and just world. ¹

Members in the Council for Global Equality are required to have a primary focus on human rights, foreign policy, or LGBT rights, have a direct interest in influencing U.S. federal policy, and pay annual dues. ⁷

Funding

Council for Global Equality reports that it is primarily funded through dues and four main external entities: the Arcus Foundation, a left-leaning grantmaking foundation associated with billionaire medical device heir Jon Stryker; Sigrid Rausing Trust, a grantmaking organization that provides funding for several programs that support efforts toward defending human-rights, protecting marginalized populations from violence and discrimination, and environmental advocacy; Open Society Foundations; and an anonymous source. The Council’s annual budget is a self-reported $865,000 per year. ⁸

People

The Council for Global Equality is co-chaired by co-founders Mark Bromley and Julie Dorf. ⁹ Bromley worked for former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. ¹⁰ Dorf founded and directed the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, now known as OutRight Action International; worked as the director of philanthropic services for Horizons Foundation, the longest-standing LGBT-focused community foundation; and independently consulted for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a prominent entity that normalized gender reassignment treatments in the medical profession. ¹¹

1. “Organizational Members.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/organizational-members.
2. “Affirm Human Rights.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/what-we-do/affirm-human-rights.
3. “Hold U.S. Government Accountable.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/what-we-do/hold-us-government-accountable.
4. “Our Mission.” The Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/our-mission.
5. “Further Corporate Responsibility.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/what-we-do/further-corporate-responsibility/
6. “RFK Human Rights Sues Trump, Pompeo.” RFK Human Rights. 2020. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://rfkhumanrights.org/rfk-human-rights-sues-trump-pompeo.
7. “Council for Global Equality Membership Criteria.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/organization-structure-and-finances/membership-criteria.
8. “Our Finances.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/organization-structure-and-finances/our-finances.
9. “Staff.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/staff.
10. “Mark Bromley, Co-Chair.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/staff/257.
11. “Julie Dorf, Co-Chair.” Council for Global Equality. Accessed October 30, 2023. http://www.globalequality.org/who-we-are/staff/33-jd-bio-page.