Corporate Equality Index 2025

First launched in 2002, the HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index is the leading roadmap and benchmarking tool for U.S. businesses in the field of workplace equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. With over 20 years of impact, the CEI evaluates companies based on four core pillars: non-discrimination protections, equitable benefits, inclusive internal culture, and corporate social responsibility.

Purpose of the CEI

The CEI’s main purpose is to create safer, more inclusive and welcoming workplaces for LGBTQ+ individuals. The CEI survey is a benchmarking tool that helps businesses assess their level of LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion by providing a clear, actionable framework. The survey focuses on four key pillars that serve as the framework for the CEI criteria: non-discrimination policies, equitable healthcare benefits, inclusive internal workplace culture, and corporate social responsibility.

Administration of the CEI

The CEI is administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. 

The HRC Foundation envisions a world where all LGBTQ+ people can participate fully in the systems that shape our daily lives. Through public education, research, and policy and practice change, the Foundation’s impact can be felt in schools, on factory floors and corporate suites, and in places of worship. It touches LGBTQ+ lives from childhood through end-of-life, people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities and religious beliefs, in big cities and small towns, in the United States and across the globe.

As a 501(c)(3) organization, the HRC Foundation does not engage in political or electoral work. It operates independently of any political affiliation, with a commitment to advancing equality through non-partisan initiatives focused on education, research, and collaboration with stakeholders. Both the HRC Foundation and its partner organization, the Human Rights Campaign, are non-partisan advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality.

Principles of the CEI Criteria

For over twenty years, the CEI has upheld transparent and fair standards, fostering LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. The HRC Foundation is committed to identifying the best in class policies and practices that improve the experiences of LGBTQ+ employees while providing the resources and consultation necessary for businesses to achieve their desired scores. These principles of the CEI ensure that the criteria are rigorous, measurable, and adaptable to the diverse needs of participating employers and the LGBTQ+ community.

The CEI’s criteria are designed to be rigorous yet fair, incorporating leading and best practices that any mid- to large- size employer can reasonably implement. Recognizing the diversity of U.S. employers, the criteria accommodates a range of industries, from consumer-focused businesses to specialized fields like law and technology. To support businesses in meeting these standards, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation  offers templates, guidance, consultation and other resources, making implementation of the CEI criteria accessible and feasible. Additionally, the scoring emphasizes parity rather than preferential treatment, requiring employers to extend equal benefits and protections to LGBTQ+ employees, ensuring fairness without creating undue advantages.

Transparency and objectivity are also cornerstones of the CEI criteria. Every metric is quantitatively measurable, providing clarity and accountability for all participants. The criteria are inclusive of both domestic and global policies, enabling companies to benchmark their efforts consistently across their entire operations, ensuring comparability across industries and years. For LGBTQ+ employees and job seekers, the CEI provides critical transparency by identifying workplaces where they can feel safe, valued, and supported. By publicly rating companies on their LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts, the CEI serves as a reliable resource for understanding which employers have committed to fostering affirming environments. This transparency empowers LGBTQ+ individuals to make informed decisions about where to work and contributes to creating a more equitable workforce overall.

Finally, attainability and reliability anchor the CEI’s approach. While new unscored questions and emerging practices are introduced to reflect ongoing developments, the core criteria remain stable for year-to-year comparisons. Furthermore, the HRC Foundation provides at least 2 survey cycles’ notice – usually in two year spans, of any significant changes. This ensures ample time for corporate partners to prepare and adapt. This thoughtful approach enables businesses to plan strategically and continuously improve their workplace inclusion efforts without encountering unexpected shifts.

About the “Equality 100 Award”

The CEI’s “Equality 100 Award” is a unique distinction and honors the work that companies have done to ensure a safe workplace for LGBTQ+ employees. The score is a point-in-time measure and should not be taken as an absolute and final assessment of a business’ LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts. The CEI and its associated score are one component of the greater framework of corporate citizenship, and the ways in which businesses can demonstrate meaningful allyship. In HRC’s The LGBTQ+ Corporate Citizen – A Framework for Emerging Best Practices in Allyship Report, we identify pillars that stand alongside workplace inclusion, providing additional resources to businesses on how to build inclusion across business operations.

For more facts about the CEI, please see this document.

Why the CEI Matters

With over 1,400 companies rated annually, the CEI affects millions of employees and has helped set industry standards in LGBTQ+ inclusion. Even as employees and workplaces navigate anti-LGBTQ laws and policies in their states or federally, the CEI provides companies and employees with a clear set of tools to provide safe and affirming workplaces for the community permitted by law. This doesn’t only help LGBTQ+ employees achieve equal pay and benefits for equal work but it helps reduce liability risk for companies, increase productivity of the workforce and benefit the company’s bottom line. 

The CEI encourages best practices in LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, benefiting both employees and employers through talent attraction, retention, and workplace morale. Research consistently shows that fostering an inclusive workplace drives talent acquisition, boosts innovation, and helps drive business success. Additionally, with close to $1.4 trillion in spending power, LGBTQ+ consumers and investors are thoughtful about where they spend and invest their money. Ensuring LGBTQ+ employees and consumers feel welcomed and affirmed is not just equitable—it’s smart business.

As efforts to undermine inclusion initiatives evolve, businesses must adapt to these pressures while staying anchored to values of fairness, equality, and inclusivity–essential drivers of long-term success. Adjustments to inclusion strategies may be necessary to address immediate challenges, but that does not translate into wholesale dismantling of workplace inclusion in corporate America – the future of business success depends on it.  

Twenty-two years ago, the CEI pioneered corporate benchmarking and established a clear connection between workplace inclusion and business performance. By participating, companies reinforce their commitment to transparency and inclusion, demonstrating to employees, customers and investors the importance an equitable workforce plays in driving financial growth. It also signals the belief that every employee deserves a welcoming and affirming workplace. As inclusion strategies evolve, the HRC Foundation's goal remains to serve as the preeminent and trusted resource for corporate leadership, providing clear legal guidance and a vision for best-in-class practices that ensure LGBTQ+ employees are treated fairly, and that policies and benefits are applicable and available to all employees, nothing more. 

It has been the constant mission of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, since its creation in 1980, to advocate for inclusive and equitable policies, practices, and protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community and their families. Significant progress has been made towards this goal, reflected in both societal attitudes and dedicated legislation to provide employment and discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

A landmark moment came in 2015, with the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted same-sex couples the right to full, equal recognition under the law. In 2020, the Bostock v. Clayton County decision reaffirmed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ+ employees from discrimination. In June 2021, the Biden administration reinstated protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, ensuring transgender individuals access to essential health services without discrimination. Each of these achievements has profoundly impacted LGBTQ+ employees and their families.

While advancing policies and expanding benefits are crucial, the ultimate measure of success is the impact on the daily experiences and well-being of LGBTQ+ employees. In this section, we share employees’ firsthand accounts of how the CEI has shaped their lives. 

*To protect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals, names in this document have been changed.

Continued Adoption of Evolved CEI Criteria

Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace: Healthcare and Beyond

Although the push for LGBTQ+ inclusive workplaces began largely as an undertaking within the United States and Europe, the conversation around inclusivity is now pointedly more prominent among international stakeholders. The bottom line is undeniable – in a global marketplace, equality knows no borders.

Working hand-in-hand with both U.S.-based and international businesses, HRC made the case that inclusion efforts did not have to be contained to any one border. With many multinational companies employing persons outside of the United States, HRC encouraged CEI participants to consider how their adopted inclusive policies and practices could and would impact their workforces in countries with less tolerant legal and cultural stances towards LGBTQ+ communities. 

To this effort, in 2016, the Corporate Equality Index criteria were expanded to require that companies with global operations extend their nondiscrimination policies across all their operations. This change helped drive more widespread adoption of nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity protections. In 2016, 54% of CEI-rated companies had global operations and 95 percent of those companies extended their LGBTQ+ inclusive nondiscrimination policies globally. With the 2025 CEI, 59 percent of rated companies have global operations and over 97 percent extend those protections globally.

The progress towards LGBTQ+ inclusion does not end with nondiscrimination policies. Companies continue to amplify their global LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts through the targeted expansion of equitable benefits and inclusive practices. Globally, companies are adopting critical benefits such as domestic partner recognition and transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, as well as organizational training and capacity building. These companies are also deepening employee engagement efforts by expanding employee resource groups for LGBTQ+ workers and their allies. 

In the past, and for this 2025 edition, the CEI survey collected information on global efforts to provide domestic partner benefits and transgender-inclusive benefits, support for global chapters of employee resource groups, and whether companies engage externally with LGBTQ+ communities outside the U.S. Across all categories, a majority of companies report extending these benefits and inclusive practices beyond U.S. borders.

^{1 At the HRC Foundation, we use the acronym “LGBTQ+” to represent the diversity of the greater lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. We recognize that this acronym is U.S.-centric and that communities around the world recognize different identities and acronyms. When working in different communities, we adjust our language to reflect local customs.} 

Criteria 1: Workforce Protections

THE WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS criteria of the CEI call for a written employment non-discrimination policy across all operations that includes both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”. For companies with operations outside of the U.S., the policy must also be extended across the global workforce. 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people continue to face discrimination in employment because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, creating a need for explicit non-discrimination policies. The 2020 SCOTUS ruling of Bostock v. Clayton County, which cemented that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, supports this foundational requirement.

Clearly enumerated non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity are essential to LGBTQ+ workforce equity and inclusion. The policies help to ensure:

• Equal opportunity for all employees;
• Diverse talent acquisition and retention for broader economic growth; and,
• Employers are kept apace with changing legal and public opinion landscapes.

Furthermore, these policies represent minimal upfront costs. Rates of litigation, upon implementation, are consistent with other protected classes.

Criteria 2: Inclusive Benefits

IN THE U.S., EMPLOYER-PROVIDED HEALTH INSURANCE IS THE SINGLE LARGEST source of healthcare coverage. Competitive employer-provided benefits packages are critical to attracting and retaining talent. Widespread employer adoption of such packages helps to ensure that offering LGBTQ+ inclusive benefits to employees and their families is a low-cost, high-return proposition for businesses. In addition, equitable benefits structures align with the principle of equal compensation for equal work. Apart from actual wages paid, benefits can account, on average, for approximately 30 percent of employees’ overall compensation (BOL 2019). By amending their benefits structures, employers ensure that they extend this valuable bundle of benefits to their workforce equitably, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Most employers have reported an overall increase of less than 3.5 percent in total benefits costs when they implement partner benefits and marginal increases related to transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage (i.e., a fraction of a decimal point of cost calculations). 

The HRC Foundation rates and gives guidance on three key components of equal health insurance benefits:

• Parity between benefits available for employees’ spouses and partners;
• Parity in the provision of family formation benefits for employees’ spouses and partners; and 
• Transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits that offer equal access to healthcare and removal of all broad exclusions to healthcare coverage across plan offerings.

In addition, employers are rated on having full parity across their entire suite of benefits – including non-healthcare benefits such as leave, retirement, and others – between spouses and partners.

LGBTQ+ inclusive benefits packages are:

• Necessary for talent acquisition and retention and broader economic growth;
• Equal compensation for equal work;
• Helping employers keep pace with changing legal landscape and workforce expectations; and,
• Harbor minimal upfront costs (on average 1% increase for corporate employers’ overall health insurance costs).

The premise of parity underlies the inclusive benefits section of the CEI criteria. In its CEI scoring, the HRC Foundation does not penalize an employer if a particular benefit is not offered to any employees but holds employers accountable to provide LGBTQ+ employees and their families with the same benefits available to other employees across available benefits packages. For example, where routine care, hormone therapies, and medically necessary surgeries are available to cisgender (non-transgender) people, these same healthcare benefits must also be extended to transgender people covered by the plan. Many employers have begun to comprehensively address health insurance coverage for transgender individuals, and most have experienced insignificant or no premium increases as a result.

Continued Need for Partner Benefits

Since 2002, the CEI has required parity between spousal and partner benefits. After the United States v. Windsor and before the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court rulings, HRC released a position paper cautioning against a marriage-only standard for accessing healthcare coverage, which is an unreasonable standard given the many other legal vulnerabilities beyond their right to marry that continue to affect LGBTQ+ individuals’ freedom.

Since the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which brought marriage equality nationwide by ruling that marriage is a fundamental right to which same-sex couples should have the same access as opposite-sex couples, employers have sought to do the right thing in the name of equality and provide spousal benefits to both same- and different-sex married couples. In December 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) — a bill that codifies federal marriage equality by guaranteeing the federal rights, benefits and obligations of marriages in the federal code; repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); and affirms that public acts, records and proceedings should be recognized by all states. By doing so, it protects the status quo that exists following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark rulings in Loving v. Virginia (1967), Windsor v. United States (2013) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) — decisions that together made equal marriage the law of the land.

While marriage equality is undoubtedly a monumental step toward full equality, LGBTQ+ individuals remain at risk for discrimination in many other aspects of daily life. Until LGBTQ+ Americans have full equality through the federal Equality Act, domestic partner benefits will remain an essential CEI standard that helps to fill the void left by federal and state law and ensure LGBTQ+ workers and their families receive equitable benefits whether married or partnered.

Domestic partner benefits do not only serve same-sex couples. In fact, over the last decade, most businesses that have offered same-sex partner benefits also extended these to different-sex partners–which is a requirement in the CEI to receive any points. Employers have increasingly recognized the value of providing necessary benefits to meet the needs of their diverse workforces.

In total, 1098 businesses met the standard in this year’s survey. The CEI continues to reflect best practices for LGBTQ+ workers and their families.

Understanding Transgender-Inclusive Healthcare Coverage

In 2004, the HRC Foundation identified transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage as a focus area for educational outreach and as a scored component of the CEI criteria. 

From 2006 through 2011, a top CEI score meant businesses needed to mitigate at least one exclusion among five critical categories of transgender healthcare, namely: mental health, pharmacy benefits for hormone therapy, medical visits and lab procedures related to hormone therapy, surgical procedures, and short-term leave for surgical procedures. While awareness of barriers to transgender healthcare coverage steadily increased, a majority of CEI-rated businesses plateaued in offering mental healthcare coverage and/or short-term leave for surgical procedures and did not mitigate exclusions related to other medically necessary treatments. 

In 2009, the HRC Foundation announced a major change to what would be the 2012 CEI criteria. To earn a score of 100, a business needed not just to mitigate one or more exclusions but also to address the root problem of transgender exclusion in coverage and fully affirm healthcare coverage for medically necessary transition-related care and other routine and chronic conditions. The HRC Foundation embarked on a massive campaign of educational and consultative efforts to address healthcare and insurance disparities for the transgender population and their families, including outreach to leading health insurance companies, direct consultation with both fully- and self-insured employers to modify their health insurance plans,  and collection and dissemination of cost and utilization data from leading businesses. 

Growth of Trans Benefits Over Time

Criteria 3: Supporting an Inclusive Culture

LGBTQ+ Internal Training and Accountability

Equitable policies and benefits are critical to LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workforce but alone are not sufficient to support a truly inclusive culture within a workplace. Employers recognize that beyond the letter of a policy, additional programming and educational efforts are necessary. 

Ultimately, businesses invest in organizational competency programs because:

• Policy does not equal practice;
• Invisible diversity requires unique training focus and defined safe space programs and resources. Which is why intersectional education is key to any inclusive workplace; 
• Senior-level buy-in and accountability metrics effect change quickly and for the long term; and,
• Retaining workers is largely about everyday experiences on the job.

Many employers integrate educational programs into already existing diversity and inclusion programs. To obtain full credit in this criterion, employers must show at least four types of organizational competency programs and one of those programs needs to include the core components of intersectionality in the workplace. LGBTQ+ workers hold multiple identities and those who carry more than one historically marginalized identity, move through the world and the workplace with an experience that’s greater than the sum of its parts. That is why we require that businesses provide explicit intersectionality training to their workforce. This comprehensive metric is provided as accountability for employers to devote resources to creating and maintaining a climate of inclusion.

Some of the most common forms of LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts are: 

• Diversity training programs such as new hire, manager, and professional development training;
• Performance evaluation mechanisms for senior leadership; and,
• Integration of intersectionality in professional development, skills-based or other trainings 

LGBTQ+ Data Collection

It is imperative to the future success of any company to understand the lived experiences of your workers to ensure implemented policies and practices have the intended impact. In order to do so, employers have sought ways to learn more about their workforce by building intentional initiatives that impact every employee in a positive way. For example, employee reported self-ID data may help employers determine underrepresentation in hiring or to understand pay equity across different demographics, strengthening employee recruitment and retention efforts. Asking your employees to share details about themselves and their families can be seem like a risky thing for some employees, especially collecting data on identities that have historically not been accepted in the workplace or deemed “unprofessional” based on limited and outdated concepts of professionalism, especially those concepts rooted in assimilation versus individuality.

Companies have previously employed methods of collecting this data, such as LGBTQ+ employee resource group membership, but this method is limited and has yielded minimal data to take action. More recently employers have gathered statistics via employee engagement surveys and through confidential and secure employee records. These engagement surveys and HR information systems include optional questions that allow LGBTQ+ employees to self-identify based on gender identity or sexual orientation. This year, HRC continues to see a record number of companies collecting LGBTQ+ data from their employees. 866 companies are tracking sexual orientation and gender identity in their human resource information systems (HRIS), which is a 84% increase in just two CEI cycles (CEI 2022).

Self-identification can also be impactful in businesses’ board rooms. LGBTQ+ board directors remain underrepresented in the board room. Including sexual orientation and gender identity alongside other secure and confidential demographic data collection both creates space for LGBTQ+ board members in these circles but also further allows businesses to understand their constituency.

Transgender Inclusion Best Practices

When businesses are committed to creating safe and inclusive workplaces, that can only be achieved when all employees are included. Providing equal healthcare and wellness benefits is one component for this inclusion, but that’s not all employers can do. Fair-minded employers seeking the best and brightest want to close the gaps between inclusive policies and their own practices and cultural understanding of gender diversity to create welcoming and productive workplaces for all employees, including those who are transgender and non-binary.

Businesses may encounter employees transitioning on the job and a workplace transition involves change not only for the employee but also for their manager, colleagues, and clients. Business leaders know the importance of proper planning, communication, and training in implementing successful organizational change. Gender transition guidelines, a written set of guidelines to manage an on-the-job gender transition, lead HR professionals, managers and

transitioning employees through a proactive planning process. In the 2025 CEI, 1,112 employers have instituted gender transition guidelines to support transitioning employees, their managers and their colleagues.

Additionally, policies like gender-neutral dress codes, transgender inclusive restroom and facility policies, and guidance for employees with details on how to display their chosen name and display their pronouns in directories, each also are parts of creating a more inclusive workplace for transgender and non-binary employees. Adopting inclusive practices in the workplace helps foster a more accepting and affirming workplace for transgender and non-binary individuals and can mitigate the risk of discriminatory workplaces. 

These policies include transgender-inclusive restroom guidance, gender-neutral dress codes and how an employee’s information is displayed, such as procedures for changing names and pronouns throughout company-wide databases. 

LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group or Diversity Council

Many large employers have formally recognized employee resource groups (ERGs), also known as employee networks, business resources, or affinity groups, for diverse populations of their workforce, including women, people of color, veterans, parents, people of varied abilities, and LGBTQ+ people and their allies. The purpose of these groups is two-fold:

• To foster a sense of community and visibility of these diverse populations within a business; and
• To leverage each unique populations’ networks and skills to help accomplish business goals such as market innovation, recruitment and retention of talent.

Employee resource groups are great platforms for leadership opportunities for LGBTQ+ and allied employees to better their own work environments. In addition, the reach of many ERGs extends beyond the everyday affairs of an employer to policy making, representing the employer at professional events and external activities, participating in prospective employee recruitment efforts, mentoring, and other retention-focused programming.

Employee resource groups that are focused on the LGBTQ+ workforce empower employees as change agents and promote inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees within the workplace. Recognizing the differences in businesses rated in the CEI, this criterion can also be met with an organization-wide diversity council or working group with a mission that specifically includes LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion. 

Employees who do not identify as LGBTQ+ themselves, but are invested in workplace inclusion and equality, are increasing their numbers within ERG ranks. While mission statements of ERGs are specific to LGBTQ+ inclusion, an increasing number of ally-identified colleagues are encouraged to join as membership is not limited to those who are LGBTQ+ but is open to all supporters of equality. 

ERGs have embraced allies as critical supporters of the full LGBTQ+ community, as allies bring their own unique voice and vantage point to workplace equality. The profile and impact of an employee resource group is greatly enhanced by an active executive champion for the group. 

Criteria 4 - Corporate Social Responsibility

Efforts in Outreach and Engagement to Broader LGBTQ+ Community 

Businesses have extensive programs to engage with key markets and the communities in which they operate. Public commitment in the CEI is measured through a number of individual engagements, namely through:

LGBTQ+ employee recruitment efforts as well as;

• LGBTQ+ supplier diversity programs;
• Marketing and advertising to LGBTQ+ consumers;
• Philanthropic support of LGBTQ+ organizations or events;
• Public policy weigh-in; and 
• LGBTQ+ inclusive products and services

Businesses see advantages in going public with their commitment to equality, including:

• Reputational benefits to supporting equality groups and programs; 
• A corporate case for LGBTQ+ legal equality: they are on the right side of history and eliminate barriers to investment;
• Attracting and retaining next generation of workers and consumers – the importance of communicating pro-equality messages to millennials; and,
• LGBTQ+ public support is seen as a bellwether for broader issues of diversity and inclusion.

Recruiting

Professional events such as the annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit, the Lavender Law Conference, and the Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) Conference and Career Expo are filled with highly-rated CEI employers looking to attract diverse employees. Employers’ presence at these and other events sends a clear message to potential employees that LGBTQ+ diversity is part of company culture, and that LGBTQ+ candidates are valued as the best and the brightest across industries, geographies and trades. This year, companies recruited at a much higher rate than in previous years with 991 businesses engaging in recruitment–this represents a 62% increase from the CEI 2023-2024.

Supplier Diversity

Supplier diversity programs ensure that the procurement process includes specific opportunities for minority-owned businesses, including women-owned, veteran-owned and, more recently, LGBTQ+ owned businesses. Supplier diversity initiatives have existed in the business community for at least three decades, going back to the inception of such groups like the National Association of Women Business Owners and the National Minority Business Council, both founded in the early 1970s to promote the inclusion of these under-utilized entrepreneurial groups. Furthermore, there are federal initiatives such as the Center for Veterans Enterprise that are designed to assist U.S. veterans in launching and thriving in private business. These initiatives intend to give more equitable opportunities to those would-be small business owners who are more likely to face social and practical barriers to success. 

The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce began certifying LGBTQ+ owned small businesses in 2002, a process that requires substantiation of majority LGBTQ+ ownership in a business and verification of a business’ good standing in the community. Supplier diversity initiatives are a win-win relationship for both the LGBTQ+ owned small businesses and the businesses that contract them. 

These businesses are enjoying a multitude of benefits, including a supply chain that better reflects the diverse communities in which they operate, and in turn, garnering sharper innovation and business solutions.

Marketing & Advertising

Ad campaigns and sponsorships further this message of company values to the public. Increasingly, ads with authentic images of LGBTQ+ people are featured in both LGBTQ+ media outlets and general press alike. With 1.4 trillion dollars in spending power, marketing and advertising to the LGBTQ+ community can also support companies’ bottom lines.

Philanthropy

Corporate philanthropic activities ranging from financial support to in-kind donations of products or services can bolster a business’s profile in the LGBTQ+ community. Corporate giving to organizations promoting LGBTQ+ health, education or political efforts further demonstrates this commitment to broader LGBTQ+ equality. Typically, these efforts have a strategic connection to the core mission of a business, such as a law firm’s pro bono legal support of organizations tasked with direct legal representation of LGBTQ+ individuals. 

Corporate Social Responsibility

A business’s non-discrimination policies should not be limited to human resources or diversity and inclusion. The CEI’s Corporate Social Responsibility criteria ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity protections apply to those standards that businesses require their vendors or suppliers to adhere to, as well as recipients of their philanthropic funds.

Supplier/Vendor Standards Include LGBTQ+ Nondiscrimination

Large businesses typically rely on other businesses for goods or services, and businesses of the size included in the CEI typically have set standards and guidelines already embedded in their procurement. To ensure that suppliers act in a manner that adheres to a business’s own standards, businesses must establish standards of conduct that set expectations for behavior of their suppliers. 

Philanthropic Giving Guidelines

The HRC Foundation has always held businesses accountable for the types of organizations receiving their philanthropic dollars. Historically, the CEI had a mechanism to account for foundational corporate giving to any organization whose explicit mission included efforts to undermine LGBTQ+ equality. This framework was widened in 2016 to hold companies accountable for any giving to a non-religious organization with an explicit policy of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. This requirement sets the standards around responsible foundational giving and ensures that a top-rated business does not provide philanthropic support to organizations whose values do not align with theirs.

To be LGBTQ+ inclusive, businesses should review their philanthropic giving guidance to ensure that any giving (financial or in-kind) is not available to any non-religious organizations that have a written policy of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or have a policy explicitly permitting its own chapters, affiliates, etc. to discriminate.

HRC is proud to partner with leading employers on corporate initiatives that drive equality. These corporate initiatives include the Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ+ State Legislation with over 300 major employer signatories, the LGBTQ Refugees Mentorship Initiative, and Working Positively, which invites employers to commit to being visible role models in support of HIV-positive employees and other chronic illnesses.

The latest employer activation with HRC is the Count Us In Pledge, an effort to elevate the business sector’s allyship and voice in support of transgender and non-binary people, particularly employees and their families. The pledge, endorsed by over 100 major employers across various sectors, demonstrates a unified commitment to standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. This action follows HRC's declaration of a state of emergency in 2023, with signatories committing to the following:

• To be proud and public LGBTQ+ allies, calling on lawmakers to abandon any efforts to discriminate and reject anti-LGBTQ threats to company values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• To raise up honest and authentic experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans, including those of employees and customers in the transgender and non-binary community; and
• To ensure transgender and non-binary employees and their families have access to the health and medical care they need, where possible under the law.

 And one of the largest coalition initiatives is the Business Coalition for the Equality Act. HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act is a group of 557 leading U.S. employers that support the Equality Act, federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to LGBTQ+ people that are provided to other federally protected groups. Coalition member companies represent nearly every industry, employ over 16 million people in the U.S., command over $7.8 trillion in revenue, and have operations in all 50 states.

 The Equality Act creates clear, consistent protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment ensuring that LGBTQ+ employees are hired, fired, and promoted based on their performance. In addition, the bill provides protections from discrimination in housing, credit, and jury service for LGBTQ+ people. The bill also prohibits discrimination in public spaces and services and protects against discrimination in the receipt of federal funding on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The historic Obergefell v. Hodges case in 2015 gave same-sex couples the right to marriage, and, since then, state legislators across the country have responded by proposing hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills. However, companies opposed (and still oppose) these discriminatory bills. Over the last eight years, countless companies in all 50 states have spoken out against attempts to undermine LGBTQ+ civil rights. Discriminatory bills that attempt to curb access to public services for transgender people, deny basic services to LGBTQ+ families, or preempt local nondiscrimination ordinances put company employees, employee families, and customers at risk.

 CEI-rated employers are on record supporting broad issues of LGBTQ+ equality at the local, state, and federal levels, including through amicus briefs that are submitted during court cases to support pro-LGBTQ+ legislation and rulings. Private sector support for the federal Equality Act surged within the last three years and, at present, 557 major employers are signatories on HRC’s The Business Coalition for the Equality Act.

Corporate Equality Index 2025

The HRC Foundation’s CEI rating system is designed for mid- to large-sized businesses (500 full-time employees and above) and divided into three key categories of criteria:

• Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
• Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
• Supporting an inclusive culture; and 
• Corporate Social Responsibility.

Launched in 2002, the CEI is the first internationally recognized benchmarking report for businesses to gauge their level of LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion against competitors. In addition to seeing a growth in the number of highly-rated employers, the CEI has also seen great success in the reach of the survey. The number of employers officially rated has expanded from 319 original participants to a current participant count of 1449, encompassing all major industry sectors.

Invitations and Participation

The largest and most successful U.S. employers are invited to participate in the CEI and are identified through the following lists*:

• Fortune magazine’s 1,000 largest publicly- and privately-traded businesses (2023 Fortune 1,000); and
• American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (2024 AmLaw 200).

Additionally, any private-sector, for-profit employer with 500 or more full-time U.S. employees can request to participate, including those that are privately held.

*Note: Due to the staggered timelines of the ranking lists and when contact lists are made available, the ranking year lags the CEI survey year by one year and the CEI publication year by up to two years.

How We Obtain Information

The primary source of information for the Corporate Equality Index rating each business received is the CEI survey sent every year to previous and prospective respondents. The web-based survey included links to sample policies and other guidance, found on the HRC Foundation website.

HRC Foundation staff provided additional assistance and direct consultation throughout the process and reviewed submitted documentation (required within each section) for appropriate language and consistency with survey answers.

Invitations for the CEI 2025 survey were emailed and mailed in April of 2024 and responses were returned in June 2024. If a business had previously participated in the CEI, surveys were first sent to the individual(s) responsible for prior submissions. If a business had not previously participated in the CEI, surveys were sent to the chief executive officer or managing partner of the firm, as well as the highest-level executive(s) responsible for human resources, diversity, communications, or community engagement, if obtaining the contact information for these executives was possible. 

Responsible Citizenship in the Corporate Equality Index

The information required to generate CEI ratings for businesses is difficult to ascertain from public records alone. In addition to the self-reporting provided through the CEI survey, we investigated and cross-checked the policies and practices of the rated businesses, connections with organizations that engage in anti-LGBTQ+ activities, and news accounts of efforts that undermine LGBTQ+ equality writ large (e.g., through case law efforts or public policy lobbying actions). To the greatest extent possible, these factors were reviewed before employers were rated. Businesses were invited to provide HRC Foundation staff with any additional information or updates before this report was released.

In total, the sources used include:

• The HRC Foundation’s CEI survey;
• Internal Revenue Service 990 tax filings reviewed for any business foundation’s gifts to anti-LGBTQ+ groups;
• Case law and news accounts regarding findings of discrimination and corporate responsibility and the LGBTQ+ community-at-large; and,
• Individuals that report verifiable information to the HRC Foundation.

Employers will receive anywhere from 5 to 25 points deductions for a large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ+ blemish through Criterion 5: Responsible Citizenship. Scores in this criterion are based on information that has come to HRC’s attention related to topics including but not limited to: 

• advocating for public policies or regulations related to LGBTQ+ equality that would be detrimental to employees and their families.
• undue influence by a significant shareholder calculated to undermine a business’s employment policies or practices related to its LGBTQ+ employees; 
• opposing shareholder resolutions reasonably aimed at encouraging the adoption of inclusive workplace policies;
• revoking inclusive LGBTQ+ policies or practices; 
• engaging in proven practices that are contrary to the business’s written LGBTQ+ employment policies.
• directing corporate charitable contributions to organizations whose primary mission includes advocacy against LGBTQ+ equality; 
• failing to uphold established commitments to the LGBTQ+ community resulting from pressure from anti-LGBTQ+ extremists

Responsible citizenship point deductions are effective for the current CEI cycle in which the infraction occurred plus one additional full survey cycle, unless the company responds to the LGBTQ+ community’s concerns.

If at any time after losing points in this criterion an employer responds to the LGBTQ+ community’s concerns, HRC will re-evaluate the point deduction for that employer. The rating change may not be reflected until the following year’s Corporate Equality Index report, depending on the situation.

HRC will always seek to improve an organization’s rating and seek resolutions to benefit an organization’s LGBTQ+ workers, consumers and investors.

Official Ratings

To be officially rated in the CEI, businesses must have completed and submitted a CEI survey for review by the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program team.  

Additionally, the HRC Foundation may rate businesses that did not submit a survey for a 2025 rating if the business has submitted a survey in previous years and the information is determined to be accurate, or, if the HRC Foundation has obtained sufficient information to provide an individual rating. In both cases, the HRC Foundation notified the business of the official rating and gave them an opportunity to provide updates or clarification during the 2025 CEI survey cycle prior to the report release.

Unofficial Ratings

As has been the case for decades, Fortune 500-ranked businesses that, after multiple invitations, have never responded to the CEI survey were evaluated independently and have designated unofficial ratings listed in gray in Appendix A. The HRC Foundation proactively evaluates these 121 Fortune-ranked companies for two key reasons:

• To provide the public with accurate information on these major employers; and,
• To ensure that the CEI is truly a benchmarking report among peers.

Because LGBTQ+ workers and prospective employees must navigate the gaps in federal and state protections that affect their employment decisions, our staff researches these non-surveyed businesses through this same lens, ascertaining what we can from publicly available information and applying those findings to our CEI criteria.

No matter the rating, any business that participates in the CEI is taking on a transparent, credible process of LGBTQ+ inclusion. The HRC Foundation commends the employers that have committed to the public and transparent process of the CEI survey and we invite these 121 companies to do the same.

In total, the CEI 2025 contains official ratings for 376 Fortune 500 businesses, 534 Fortune 1000 businesses, 162 law firms and 752 additional major businesses. With the additional 121 Fortune 500 businesses that have unofficial ratings, the total number of rated businesses is 1,569. Findings in the 2025 CEI report are based on the 1,449 officially rated businesses.

Criteria 1

Workforce Protections (5 points possible)

Employment Non-Discrimination (5 points)
Businesses’ employment non-discrimination policy must include the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” (or “gender identity”)  for all operations

Criteria 2

Inclusive Benefits (50 points possible) 
To secure full credit for benefits criteria, each benefit must be available to all benefits-eligible U.S. employees. In areas where more than one health insurance plan is available, at least one inclusive plan must be available.

a. Equivalency in same- and different-sex spousal medical and soft benefits (10 points)

b. Equivalency in same- and different-sex domestic partner medical and soft benefits (10 points)

c. Equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care (25 points)

• Equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusions for medically necessary care
  • Insurance contract explicitly affirms coverage and contains no blanket exclusions for coverage
  • Insurance contract and/or policy documentation is based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care
  • Plan documentation must be readily available to employees and must clearly communicate inclusive insurance options to employees and their eligible dependents.
  • Other benefits available for other medical conditions are also available to transgender individuals. Specifically, where available for employees, the following benefits should all extend to transgender individuals, including for transition-related services:
    • Short term medical leave
    • Mental health benefits
    • Pharmaceutical coverage (e.g., for hormone replacement therapies)
    • Coverage for medical visits or laboratory services
    • Coverage for reconstructive surgical procedures related to sex reassignment

d. LGBTQ+ Benefits Guide (5 points). Business must provide an LGBTQ+ inclusive benefits guide for its employees

Criteria 3

Supporting an Inclusive Culture & Corporate Social Responsibility (25 points possible)

a. LGBTQ+ Internal Training and Accountability (5 points)

Businesses must demonstrate a firm-wide, sustained and accountable commitment to diversity and cultural competency, including at least four of the following elements:

• New hire training clearly states that the nondiscrimination policy includes gender identity and sexual orientation and provides definitions or scenarios illustrating the policy for each
• Supervisors undergo training that includes gender identity and sexual orientation as discrete topics (may be part of a broader training), and provides definitions or scenarios illustrating the policy for each
• Integration of gender identity and sexual orientation in professional development, skills-based or other leadership training that includes elements of diversity and/or cultural competency
• Senior management/executive performance measures include LGBTQ+ diversity metrics
• Integration of intersectionality in professional development, skills-based, or other training (required for credit)

b. LGBTQ+ Data Collection (5 points)

Businesses must implement at least one of the following LGBTQ+ data collection efforts

• Anonymous employee engagement or climate surveys conducted on an annual or biennial basis allow employees the option to identify as LGBTQ+
• Data collection forms that include employee race, ethnicity, gender, military and disability status — typically recorded as part of employee records — include optional questions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Board (or other governing body) member demographic data collection include the option for individuals to report their sexual orientation and gender identity or self-identity as LGBTQ+

c. Transgender Inclusion Best Practices (5 points)

Businesses must have both of the following transgender inclusive best practices

• Gender transition guidelines with supportive restroom, dress code and documentation guidance
• Implementation of the at least one (1) of the following policies or practices
  • Trans-inclusive restroom/facilities policy
  • Gender-neutral dress code
  • Policies/procedures that allow for optional sharing of gender pronouns

d. Employee Group or Diversity Council (10 points)

Businesses must have either of the following: 

• LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group
• LGBTQ+ Diversity Council

Criteria 4

Corporate Social Responsibility (20 points possible)

a. Efforts of Outreach or Engagement to Broader LGBTQ+ Community (15 points)

Businesses must demonstrate ongoing LGBTQ+ specific engagement that extends across the firm, this includes at least five of the following:

• LGBTQ+ employee recruitment efforts with demonstrated reach of LGBTQ+ applicants (required documentation may include a short summary of the event or an estimation of the number of candidates reached)
• Supplier diversity program with demonstrated effort to include certified LGBTQ+ suppliers
• Marketing or advertising to LGBTQ+ consumers (e.g.: advertising with LGBTQ+ content, advertising in LGBTQ+ media or sponsoring LGBTQ+ organizations and events)
• Philanthropic support of at least one LGBTQ+ organization or event (e.g.: financial, in kind or pro bono support)
• Demonstrated public support for LGBTQ+ equality under the law through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives
• LGBTQ+ inclusive products and services

b. LGBTQ+ Corporate Social Responsibility (5 points)

Businesses must have both of the following:

• Contractor/supplier non-discrimination standards
• Philanthropic Giving Guidelines

Criteria 5

Responsible Citizenship (Up to 25 points)

Employers will receive up to 25 points deducted from their score for a large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ+ blemish on their recent records. Scores on this criterion are based on information that has come to HRC’s attention related to topics that are harmful to the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion.

(See more information in the “Responsible Citizenship in the Corporate Equality Index” for more information)

CEI 2025 Maximum Score: 100 points

To view employer score details,
please visit www.hrc.org/cei/search.

About the Workplace Equality Program

The Workplace Equality Program at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has been committed to equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ workers since 1998.We have advanced LGBTQ+ equality by encouraging workplaces in the U.S. and beyond to adopt inclusive employment benefits, policies, and practices. By educating corporate entities and benchmarking corporate practices, we have motivated employers to adopt inclusive workplace benefits and protections that directly impact the lives of LGBTQ+ workers and their families.

As the premier national benchmarking tool, the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a primary driving force for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. This internal analysis allows companies to review key policies for inclusion in key areas. The CEI has worked with corporations to create workplaces where LGBTQ+ employees feel welcomed, affirmed, and can thrive.

Extending from the CEI, the Equidad/e Programs work to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. These programs partner with local organizations to create culturally relevant standards for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, helping to build safer, more equitable environments for employees in these regions.

Additionally, our workplace training and climate research work offer a comprehensive suite of resources designed to help employers foster LGBTQ+ inclusive environments. Whether it is about the current state or the future needs of the LGBTQ+ workforce, these resources help us identify emerging trends, gaps, and areas for future innovation, ensuring that our efforts remain aligned with the evolving needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

Together, these initiatives work towards creating workplaces where every LGBTQ+ person can feel safe, valued, and supported.