In the latest edition of Human Rights Foundation's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), several Fortune Top-20 companies including General Motors, Apple Inc and Ford Motor Company scored a complete 100.
The Human Rights Foundation releases an annual CEI report that gauges the state of the LGBT community and how they are treated in workplaces. It also measures the benefits, rights and corporates' attention towards the community on an annual basis.
"When it comes to LGBT equality, corporate America is a leader, not a follower. At every turn, from advocating for marriage equality to providing vital support for transgender employees, this country's leading companies have asked, 'what more can we do?,' and they've worked tirelessly to achieve new progress. That kind of leadership changes countless lives around this country, and sets an important example to other companies around the globe," Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Foundation said in a statement.
What the Survey Found
While the senate is still debating an exclusive law for protection against discrimination for the LGBT community, the CEI report found that 89% of the Fortune 500 companies already have a "non-discrimination by sexual orientation" policy at work.
Also, about a third of the Fortune 500 companies now offer healthcare cover and more than hundred of them have "adopted gender transition guidelines" and education programs that promote identity acceptance and definitions in the workplace.
The Winners
This year, a record 366 companies achieved a 100% rating on the CEI, compared to the 13 businesses that had achieved a full score 13 years back when the ratings debuted.
Law firms, banking and financial institutions and retail and consumer product firms were the top sectors where LGBT is most accepted and respected.
Below are the top 10 Fortune-1000 companies that scored a full 100:
- Chevron Corp.
- Apple Inc.
- General Motors Co.
- General Electric Co
- Ford Motor Co.
- AT&T Inc.
- Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
- CVS Caremark Corp.
- McKesson Corp.
- Hewlett-Packard Co.
