In a modern job market, many factors can tilt the scale for a prospective employee. It isn’t all about the salary: There are benefits, career implications, and corporate culture to consider.

Sometimes, that culture is so important because of the bearing it has on the rest.

Alabama Power’s Jonathan Porter (2nd left) is joined by a panel of Alabama-based Human Resources leaders.

For those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community, those cultural considerations aren’t just an afterthought. They can narrowly restrict the kinds of workplaces where one can be comfortable, and fill a wide-open career path with barriers.

“At Alabama Power, we work to create a culture for our people,” said Jonathan Porter, vice president of Human Resources and Ethics. Porter was one of several Alabama-based HR leaders to speak at a recent workshop in Birmingham centered on LGBT equality. “For us, this is more of an opportunity than an obligation; this is about inclusion, and we are trying to get better.”

Sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, Alabama Power, Apple and a dozen other local businesses, the day-long meeting was designed to take lessons learned to another level. While most Fortune 500 companies have embraced and addressed diversity in large corporate environments, more people work in companies with fewer than 500 employees. This means there are fewer precedents set, and fewer opportunities for disenfranchised employees to find allies.

One of the important steps is creating more awareness about the impact of unconscious bias. For instance, an insurance enrollment form that indicates “Spouse of opposite sex” instead of just “spouse.”

The panel discussed a number of benefits for more inclusive companies that are far greater than just minimizing risk. An inclusive culture opens up the talent pool to a wider array of potential employees. For those companies with direct contact with customers, it also creates a more open and sympathetic environment that can translate to sales and revenue.

“How many of you love your iPhone?” asked Steve Ketser, with Apple Computer’s government relations division. “The iPhone is an example of a product that is created in an open and inclusive environment. Inclusion is not just a matter of your policies – it has to be part of your practices, your beliefs and your core values.”