The Corporate Equality Index is a report published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a tool to rate American businesses on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. Its primary source of data are surveys [1] but researchers cross-check business policy and their implications for LGBTQ workers and public records independently. [2] The index has been published annually since 2002. Additionally, the CEI focuses on the positive associations of equality promoting policies and LGBTQ supporting businesses which has developed to reflect a positive correlation between the promotion of LGBTQ equality and successful organizations. Following the top 100 corporations that are publicly ranked under the CEI, participating organizations remain anonymous. For businesses looking to enforce and expand LGBTQ diverse and inclusive policies, the CEI provides a framework that allows businesses to recognize and address issues and policies that restrict equality for LGBTQ people in the workplace. [3]
The CEI criteria are established by four main pillars: "non-discrimination policies across business entities, equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families, internal education and accountability metrics to promote LGBTQ inclusion competency, [and] public commitment to LGBTQ equality". [4] In the most recent modified CEI criteria, a fifth pillar is considered, where "businesses must not have any kind of involvement with anti-LGBT organizations or activity". [4]
The HRC Foundation lists the scoring criteria as follows, stating however that "The criteria have always been intended to evolve as more employers adopt existing criteria and new best practices emerge." [5]
Since 2002, the Corporate Equality Index has been published by the Human Rights Campaign. It was originally modeled after the Gay and Lesbian Values Index, a rating system that was designed by journalist Grant Lukenbill. [6] When the HRC modified it, it became a 100-point system, as opposed to Grant's 10-point one. [7] In its first year, the Corporate Equality Index awarded its 100 percent rating to 13 businesses. [8] Each year, there has been an increase in the number of businesses that achieve this rating. In the 2011 index, 337 companies received the 100 percent rating. [9] The criteria for the index has changed since its first publication. Beginning in 2006, transgender rights issues became more imperative to the index than they had previously been; consequently, the 2012 index will include more updated criteria regarding benefits of partnerships and transgender inclusivity. [8]
Following the introduction of the CEI, some participating businesses chose to remain anonymous despite the possibility of being ranked within the top 100 positions under the CEI criteria. The few organizations that chose to opt-out of CEI ranking publicity was due to concern of losing business and firm-value for supporting LGBT workplace equality. In recent years, businesses have outspokenly publicized their support for LGBT equality. Because of this, increasingly significant positive correlations between promotion of LGBT equality and firm-value have resulted. For corporations looking to broaden diversity and inclusion within its labor force, it “is about the power that an organization can derive from deliberately nurturing and integrating heterogeneous groups of people so that they fit together”. [3] [10]
With the success of the CEI, the Human Rights Campaign now also publishes a Municipal Equality Index (MEI) for cities, and a Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) for hospitals, also with the goals of fostering best practices regarding LGBT individuals. [11] [12]
There are competing opinions about the effect that a company's rating has on its business. Some say that having a high rating will have a positive impact, while others say that it will cause a company to lose popularity among conservative customers. A study in Colorado showed that having a good rating in the CEI does not harm a company's stocks. [13] The index also encourages companies to change their policies regarding LGBT employees, and in many cases accomplishes this goal. From 2004 to 2005, 91 percent of the corporations listed included transgender discrimination protection where they previously had not. [14] Additionally, many companies are pressured to change policies that have earned them a poor score on the index, due to bad press. This has led to a competitive atmosphere among businesses to stay current in the latest LGBT-related inclusive policies. [6] Larger corporations are much more likely to change LGBT-related policies as a result of the index than small or medium companies are. The Human Rights Campaign focuses on larger companies in the CEI, so smaller businesses are subject to little public backlash due to the efforts of the Human Rights Campaign and the index. [15]
The dynamic growth of the Human Rights Campaign criteria for the CEI is necessary because LGBT legal protections vary depending on location, and broadening the criteria encourages inclusive modification of existing practices to ensure optimal anti-discriminatory environments. This process is done by acknowledging LGBT voices, and addressing their concerns. The CEI’s increasing popularity in relation to successful organizations has encouraged businesses to implement policies subject to the CEI criteria, ultimately attracting the pink dollar and increasing economic profits. Additionally, small and large businesses that go beyond their CEI ranking by integrating the views of LGBT employees and clientele entice innovation while strengthening firm-value. [16]
Since its beginning in 2002, the Corporate Equality Index has had a financial effect on the businesses included in its ratings system.[ citation needed ] In 2007, the Human Rights Campaign introduced a mobile guide for consumers, allowing anyone to see a company's rating before choosing whether to do business with it, simply by texting the company's name to the index's short code, receiving an immediate response. [17]
Because the CEI’s criteria primarily focuses on aspects relating to larger corporations, smaller organizations are restricted from achieving similar ranking levels under the CEI. This actively demonstrates that businesses better represent LGBT people by addressing their voices and concerns alongside using the CEI as a general guideline for LGBT equality within the workplace. Furthermore, this implies that businesses have the ability to promote and support LGBT equality that go beyond the CEI’s criteria. Because of this, both small and large businesses are encouraged to discuss LGBT workplace policies and practices with LGBT employees in order to ameliorate diversity and inclusion. [4]
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQ individuals, including advocating for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBTQ individuals.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or, depending on the version of the bill, gender identity, by employers with at least 15 employees.
GenderPAC was an LGBT rights organization based in Washington, DC working to ensure that classrooms, communities, and workplaces were safe places for every person to learn, grow, and succeed, whether or not they conform to expectations for masculinity or femininity. It was active from 1995 to 2009.
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is a United States lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) workplace equality non-profit organization headquartered in Oakland, California.
The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) is a U.S. not-for-profit advocacy group that aims to expand the economic opportunities and advancement of the LGBT business community. Its headquarters are in NW in Washington, D.C. NGLCC is the exclusive certifying body for LGBT-owned businesses known as LGBT Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs), and advocates for LGBT business inclusion in corporate and government supplier diversity programs. In October 2017, the organization changed its name from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to National LGBT Chamber of Commerce to better reflect the entire LGBT business community it serves.
Global LGBTQIA+ Employee & Allies at Microsoft (GLEAM) refers to the Microsoft employee resource group comprising LGBTQIA+ employees along with straight allies. GLEAM originated as a private mailing list during the 1980s. Members of the list successfully campaigned for sexual orientation to be added to Microsoft's anti-discrimination policy in 1989. In 1997, group leaders pointed out that anti-gay actions had occurred, but "overt bias is extremely rare."
Equality NC(ENC) is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in North Carolina and is the oldest statewide LGBTQ equality organization in the United States.
The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, formerly the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association and the National LGBT Bar Association, is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists, and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender legal organizations. It was formally founded in 1989 and became an official affiliate of the American Bar Association in 1992. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and its current executive director is D’Arcy Kemnitz.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) affirming denominations in Judaism are Jewish religious groups that welcome LGBTQ members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include both entire Jewish denominations, as well as individual synagogues. Some are composed mainly of non-LGBT members and also have specific programs to welcome LGBT people, while others are composed mainly of LGBT members.
The Outies, formally known as the Out & Equal Workplace Awards, is an annual awards gala hosted by Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. The Outies honor individuals and organizations that are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in America's workplaces. The awards are presented annually at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, a nationwide conference addressing LGBT issues in the workplace.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of North Dakota may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in North Dakota, and same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples; same-sex marriage has been legal since June 2015 as a result of Obergefell v. Hodges. State statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law.
Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBTQ individuals come from lack of education around the LGBTQ community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.
LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Prior to the landmark cases Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020), employment protections for LGBT people were patchwork; several states and localities explicitly prohibit harassment and bias in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, although some only cover public employees. Prior to the Bostock decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees; the EEOC determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012, and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.
The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) is a civil rights advocacy organization founded in June 2010 by Jacob Meister, with a stated mission "to maintain and increase individual rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) citizens in Illinois through inter-generational volunteerism and community-driven project-based education, statewide coalition and network building, and leadership in supporting underserved communities with the necessary tools that will equip members of those communities with the resources and confidence to establish equality for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."
Equality Illinois (EI) was founded in 1991 to work towards building a better Illinois by advancing equal treatment and social justice through education, advocacy, and protection of the rights of the LGBTQ community.
The United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has an LGBTQ+ Program through the Office of Patient Care Services. The “+” sign captures identities beyond LGBTQ, including but not limited to questioning, pansexual, asexual, agender, gender diverse, nonbinary, gender-neutral, and other identities. VHA began collecting data on veteran’s sexual orientation and gender identity in 2022 to inform policy and improve clinical care. There are estimated to be more than one million LGBTQ+ Americans who are military veterans. If LGBTQ+ veterans use VHA at the same rate as non-LGBTQ+ veterans, there could be more than 250,000 LGBTQ+ veterans served by VHA. Using diagnostic codes in medical record data, Blosnich and colleagues found that the prevalence of transgender veterans in VHA (22.9/100,000) is five times higher than reported prevalence of transgender-related diagnoses in the general population (4.3/100,000). Brown and Jones identified 5,135 transgender veterans receiving care in VHA using a broader set of diagnostic codes. Brown also notes that this methodology fails to identify transgender veterans who have not disclosed their gender identity to providers, those who don’t meet criteria for a diagnosis, or veterans who get their transition-related care outside of the VHA.
Todd G. Sears, American businessman and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, is the founder and CEO of Out Leadership since 2010. A former investment banker and private banker, he has served as head of diversity strategy at Merrill Lynch from 2007-2008 and head of diversity and inclusion at Credit Suisse from 2008-2010. Sears started the first team of financial advisors focused on serving the needs of the LGBTQ community in Wall Street history.
LGBT people in science are students, professionals, hobbyists, and anyone else who is LGBT and interested in science. The sexuality of many people in science remains up for debate by historians, largely due to the unaccepting cultures in which many of these people lived. For the most part, we do not know for certain how people in the past would have labelled their sexuality or gender because many individuals lived radically different private lives outside of the accepted gender and sexual norms of their time. One such example of a historical person in science that was arguably part of the LGBT community is Leonardo da Vinci, whose sexuality was later the subject of Sigmund Freud's study.