Delaware companies score high in LGBTQ equality index

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The  Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation,  a part of  the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced a record number of the nation’s major companies and law firms are advancing vital policies and practices to protect LGBTQ workers.

The finding is contained in the   2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). an annual report assessing LGBTQ inclusion in major companies and law firms across the nation, including five in Delaware.

The annual report assesses LGBTQ inclusion in major companies and law firms across the nation, including five in Delaware.

This year, a record-breaking 609 businesses earned the CEI’s top score of 100, up from 517 last year  –  a single-year increase of 18 percent. This record sets a mark for corporate leadership over the 15-year history of the CEI.

In total, 947 companies and law firms were officially rated in the new CEI, up from 887 in last year’s reported.

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 The report also unofficially rated 137 Fortune 500 companies, which have yet to respond to an invitation to participate in the CEI survey assessing their LGBTQ policies and practices. The average score for companies and law firms based in Delaware is 87 percent. Of the five companies ranked, three earned 100 points, and one earned 90 points and above.

The ranking did not include many of the state’s largest employers. JP Morgan Chase, the state’s largest for-profit employer earned a 100 score as did Barclays and Capital One.

“At a time when the rights of LGBTQ people are under attack by the Trump-Pence Administration and state legislatures across the country, hundreds of top American companies are driving progress toward equality in the workplace,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The top-scoring companies on this year’s CEI are not only establishing policies that affirm and include employees here in the United States, they are applying these policies to their operations around the globe and impacting millions of people beyond our shores.”

Employer Name

City

Score

SLM Corp. (Sallie Mae) Newark

45

Navient Wilmington

100

TD Bank, N.A. Wilmington

100

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) Wilmington

100

AstraZeneca PLC Wilmington

90

The CEI rates companies and top law firms on detailed criteria falling into five broad categories:

  • Non-discrimination policies
  • Employment benefits
  • Demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBTQ diversity and inclusion
  • Public commitment to LGBTQ equality
  • Responsible citizenship

The full report, including a searchable employer database is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.

 

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