Agencies and PR Firms including Omnicom, Ogilvy ,Leo Burnett, Mediavest, MSLGROUP Americas, Optimedia International US, Razorfish, ZenithMediaServices, DigitasLBi and Sapeint were among the 517 businesses that scored a perfect 100 and were named “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign.
“We couldn’t be prouder that the largest U.S. LGBTQ civil rights organization has named DigtasLBi a ‘Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality’ for the fifth consecutive time,” said Tony Weismann, CEO, DigitasLBi North America. “Each year our united front against intolerance of any form becomes stronger as we strive for a culture of inclusivity, attracting the best talent to create the best work.”
The report announced that a record-breaking 517 businesses earned a top score of 100 on the Human Right’s Campaign’ 2017 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which is a 25% increase since 2015.
According to Beck Bailey, Deputy Director of Employee Engagement at the HRC, this was the largest jump in top- rated businesses in a single year in the entire history of the CEI.
“The nation’s largest employers have demonstrated through their actions that LGBTQ people are not just tolerated, but welcomed in their workplaces and communities, Chad Griffin, President of the HRC Foundation, wrote in the report. “Even with all of this progress, we know that policies and benefits make up the crucial foundation, but not the totality, of what’s needed to ensure that LGBTQ workers can thrive from the plant floor to the corner of office.”
The scoring is based on a point system, which gives each company points for policies including the equal employment opportunity policy, employment benefits that include equal partner/spousal benefits and transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage, organizational LGBT competency, and public commitment to LGBT specific efforts.
While many are concerned about the aftermath of LGBT rights post election, Bailey said. “I think the best bellwether that we have is even just looking at this last year.”
He explained that although the last year led to a very contentious legislative landscape for LGBT people from the North Carolina’s House Bill to Mississippi House’s Bill 1523, bills in South Dakota, Georgia, Arkansas and the climate post marriage equality in 2015, the reports numbers showed that businesses were not dissuaded.
“Instead, they actually doubled down and made an increased commitment,” he added, which is a trend we all hope continues.
The full report can be downloaded here.
