Human Rights Campaign released the 2021 Corporate Equality Index, the 19th year of this measure of nondiscrimination among top companies. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms, and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.
Companies are rated based upon: Non-discrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and corporate social responsibility.
Among the finding is that 94 percent of the Fortune 500 and 99.7 percent of all companies rated in the HRC publication have gender identity protections in their nondiscrimination policies—up from 3 percent and 5 percent respectively since the launch of the CEI in 2002.
Among Fortune 500 companies, 71 percent offer transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage, up from 0 in 2002. The new CEI includes 97 new employers that offer this coverage.
The 767 companies who earned a 100 on the CEI represent more than 13 million employees nationally, and another 13 million globally.
Of all Fortune 500 companies, 458 have sexual orientation in their U.S. non-discrimination policy, and 448 have gender identity.
The average CEI score for all Fortune 500 companies increased from 73 to 76 in the past year — with actively participating Fortune 500 companies having an average score of 91 percent, up from 89 percent last year.
— David Taffet