WASHINGTON — Food, beverage and grocery companies continue to set the pace for corporate LGBT inclusion, according to a report issued today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization.
A full breakdown of the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) scores for the food, beverage and grocery sector, including 34 Fortune 500 companies, can be found here.
A record 366 businesses nationwide earned 100-point scores in the CEI, and 21 of them are from the food, beverage and grocery sector. Two new participants in the CEI, Barilla America Inc. of Bannockburn, Ill.; and Mondelez International Inc. of East Hanover, N.J., earned perfect scores. Additionally, Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.; ConAgra Foods Inc. of Omaha; and The Hershey Co. of Hershey, Pa., improved their 2015 scores, joining the sector’s 100-point club.
“The diversity of this year’s brands and stores working to ensure fairness for their LGBT employees demonstrates that equality is being reflected in familiar household names and stores that are part of our neighborhoods,” said Deena Fidas, director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program.
The purpose of the CEI, which this year had 781 companies actively participating, is also to encourage small- and medium-sized companies, as well as state and municipal governments, to increase workplace acceptance by extending similar inclusive benefits and protections to LGBT employees.
The CEI rates companies and top law firms on detailed criteria falling under five broad categories:
- Non-discrimination policies
- Employment benefits
- Demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBT diversity and inclusion
- Public commitment to LGBT equality
- Responsible citizenship
The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.