At this time of year, when consumers are spending money more than ever, it’s important to know where your dollars are going. The HRC’s annual Corporate Equality Index offers up ratings on 887 businesses, detailing how those companies protect their LGBTQ employees. The report’s findings suggest that this year, the nation’s largest employers have overwhelmingly demonstrated through their actions that LGBTQ people are not just tolerated, but welcomed in their workplaces and communities.
The nation’s major companies and law firms are advancing in record numbers vital policies and practices to protect LGBTQ workers around the world, according to the 2017 Corporate Equality Index released on Monday by the HRC Foundation.
This year, a record-breaking 517 businesses earned the CEI’s top score of 100, up from 407 last year. That’s a single-year increase of more than 25 percent—the largest jump in the 15-year history of the crucial benchmarking tool for LGBTQ workplace equality. Leadership demonstrated by these businesses, including speaking out against discriminatory laws like North Carolina’s HB2, reflect more than a decade of work inside these companies to expand LGBTQ—and particularly transgender—workplace equality.
“Even in the face of relentless attempts to undermine equality, America’s leading companies and law firms remain steadfast and committed to supporting and defending the rights and dignity of LGBTQ people,” HRC President Chad Griffin stated in the report. “The unprecedented expansion of inclusive workplaces across the country and around the globe not only reflects our progress, it helps drive it. As we enter a new chapter in our fight for equality, support from the business community will be more critical than ever to protect our historic advancements over the last decade and to continue to push equality forward for workers, customers, and families around the world.”
This year, 887 companies and firms were officially rated and, in addition to the record number of companies receiving a perfect score of 100, progress continued across workplaces, including:
• 93 percent of rated companies had adopted sexual orientation equal employment policies for U.S. and global operations and 92 percent adopted gender identity equal employment policies for U.S. and global operations.
• Same-sex domestic partner or spousal benefits were provided by 98 percent of rated companies.
• 73 percent of rated companies offer transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage, up from 60 percent from last year, the largest single year increase in trans-inclusive health benefits since the coverage was added to the CEI’s scoring criteria.
Fortune 500 companies scored particularly well on the 2017 index. Top, or “perfect,” scores of “100” were given to corporations including:
• 3M Co.
• Apple Inc.
• AT&T Inc.
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
• Adidas North America
• American Express Co.
• Barnes & Noble Inc.
• Barclays
• Campbell Soup Co.
• CBS Corp.
• Chevron Corp.
• Citigroup Inc.
• Coach Inc.
• Coca-Cola Co.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co.
• Comcast NBCUniversal
• CVS Health Corp.
• Dell Inc.
• Dow Chemical Co.
• eBay Inc.
• Expedia Inc.
• Facebook Inc.
• Fannie Mae
• Ford Motor Co.
• GameStop Corp.
• Gap Inc.
• General Mills Inc.
• General Motors Co.
• Google Inc.
• Hasbro Inc.
• Hershey Co.
• Hilton Worldwide Inc.
• HP Inc.
• JC Penny Co. Inc.
• JetBlue Airways Corp.
• Johnson & Johnson
• JP Morgan Chase & Co.
• Kellogg Co.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp.
• Land O’Lakes Inc.
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• LinkedIn
• Lockheed Martin Corp.
• Macy’s Inc.
• Marriott International
• Mastercard Inc.
• Mattel Inc.
• McDonald’s Corp.
• MetLife Inc.
• MGM Resorts International
• Microsoft Corp.
• Nationwide
• Nestle Purina PetCare Co.
• Netflix
• Nordstrom Inc.
• Office Depot Inc.
• Ogilvy Group Inc.
• PayPal
• PepsiCo Inc.
• PetSmart Inc.
• Pfizer Inc.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Proctor & Gamble
• Prudential Financial Inc.
• Quest Diagnostics Inc.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
• Sears Holdings Corp.
• Shell Oil Co.
• Sony
• Sprint Corp.
• Southwest Airlines Co.
• Starbucks Corp.
• State Farm Group
• Target Corp.
• TD Ameritrade
• Time Warner Inc.
• Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.
• Tyson Foods Inc.
• United Airlines
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
• Verizon Communications Inc.
• Viacom Inc.
• Visa
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Walt Disney Co.
• Wells Fargo & Co.
• Xerox Corp.
Low-scoring Fortune 500 corporations, or, this year’s “Worst Of…” list and their Equality Index scores, include:
• Advance Auto Parts (Advance Holding) – 25
• AES Corp. – 0
• Agco – 10
• AK Steel Holding Corp. – 20
• Allergan Inc. – 20
• American Financial Group – 20
• Amphenol Corp. – 0
• ARRIS Group – 0
• AutoZone Inc. – 20
• Baker Hughes Inc. – 20
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. – 20
• Broadcom Corp. – 20
• Buckeye Partners LP – 10
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide
• Calumet Specialty Products – 0
• Casey’s General Stores – 0
• Centerpoint Energy Inc. – 20
• CHS Inc. – 20
• Community Health Systems Inc. – 20
• Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. – 0
• Crown Holdings – 0
• CTS Brands – 10
• Dana Holding Corp. – 30
• Dean Foods Co. – 40
• Delek US Holdings – 0
• Devon Energy Corp. – 40
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. – 20
• DISH Network Corp. – 0
• Dollar Tree Stores Inc. – 20
• EarthLink Inc. – 40
• Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. – 55
• Enterprise Product Partners LP – 0
• Farmers Insurance – 0
• Fidelity National Financial Corp. – 20
• FirstEnergy Corp. – 10
• Foot Locker Inc. – 10
• General Cable Corp. – 10
• Genuine Parts Co. – 0
• Global Partners – 10
• Haliburton Co. – 10
• Harley-Davidson Inc. – 10
• Ichan Enterprises – 10
• International Paper Co. – 45
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. – 20
• KBR Inc. – 20
• Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings – 20
• Las Vegas Sands Corp. – 10
• Leucadia National Corp. – 0
• Liberty Interactive Corp. – 0
• Lowe’s – 40
• Micron Technology – 40
• Mohawk Industries Inc. – 35
• MRC Global – 10
• Murphy Oil – 10
• Murphy USA – 0
• National Oilwell Varco Inc. – 10
• News Corp. – 0
• Nucor Corp. – 10
• Omnicare – 20
• O’Reilly Automotive Inc. – 10
• Packaging Corporation of America – 0
• PBF Energy – 0
• Phillip Morris International Inc. – 10
• Publix Supermarkets Inc. – 10
• Quanta Services – 10
• RadioShack Corp. – 40
• Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. – 10
• Ryland Group – 15
• SanDisk Corp. – 20
• Seaboard Corp. – 20
• Sherwin-Williams Co. – 20
• Sonic Automotive Inc. – 0
• Stanley Black & Decker Inc. – 45
• Tenneco Inc. – 20
• Tractor Supply Co. – 0
• Twenty-First Century Fox – 10
• UGI Corp. – 20
• United Natural Foods Inc. – 10
• United States Steel Corp. – 10
• Universal Health Services – 10
• Valero Energy Corp. – 20
• W.R. Berkley – 20
• Western Digital Corp. – 20
• World Fuel Services – 20
To read the full report, click here.
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