November 9, 2017
HRC Scores Massachusetts Companies' LGBTQ-Inclusive Workplace Policies in New Corporate Equality Index
READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced a record number of the nation's major companies and law firms are advancing vital policies and practices to protect LGBTQ workers around the world, according to the 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), an annual report assessing LGBTQ inclusion in major companies and law firms across the nation, including 50 in Massachusetts.
This year, a record-breaking 609 businesses earned the CEI's top score of 100, up from 517 last year -- a single-year increase of 18 percent. This record sets a new high water mark for corporate leadership over the 15-year history of the CEI.
In total, 947 companies and law firms were officially rated in the new CEI, up from 887 in last year's. The report also unofficially rated 137 Fortune 500 companies, which have yet to respond to an invitation to participate in the CEI survey assessing their LGBTQ policies and practices. The average score for companies and law firms based in Massachusetts is 97 percent. Of the 50 companies ranked, 41 earned 100 points, six earned 90 points and above, and one earned 80 points and above.
"At a time when the rights of LGBTQ people are under attack by the Trump-Pence Administration and state legislatures across the country, hundreds of top American companies are driving progress toward equality in the workplace," said HRC President Chad Griffin. "The top-scoring companies on this year's CEI are not only establishing policies that affirm and include employees here in the United States, they are applying these policies to their operations around the globe and impacting millions of people beyond our shores. In addition, many of these companies have also become vocal advocates for equality in the public square, including the dozens that have signed on to amicus briefs in vital Supreme Court cases and the 106 corporate supporters of the Equality Act. We are proud to have developed so many strong partnerships with corporate allies who see LGBTQ equality as a crucial issue for our country and for their businesses."
DigitasLBi (Boston) - 100
Raytheon Co. (Waltham) - 100
FMR Corp. (Boston) - 95
Eastern Bank Corp. (Boston) - 100
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (Boston) - 100
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Boston) - 100
Rockland Trust Co. (Rockland) - 100
State Street Corp. (Boston) - 100
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Waltham) - 100
EMC Corp. (Hopkinton) - 100
Nuance Communications (Burlington) - 80
Bain & Co. Inc./ Bridgespan Group (Boston) - 100
Boston Consulting Group (Boston) - 100
Iron Mountain Inc. (Boston) - 100
Sapient Consulting Corp. (Boston) - 100
SapientRazorfish (Boston) - 100
Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC (Watertown) - 100
Eversource Energy (Springfield) - 35
National Grid USA (Waltham) - 100
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. (Canton) - 90
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. (Lakeville-Middleboro) - 90
Ahold USA Inc. (Quincy) - 100
AthenaHealth Inc. (Watertown) - 100
Boston Scientific Corp. (Marlborough) - 100
BMC HealthNet Plan (Boston) - 70
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Boston) - 100
Hanover Insurance Group Inc. (Worcester) - 100
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. (Wellesley) - 100
John Hancock Financial Services Inc. (Boston) - 100
Liberty Mutual Group (Boston) - 100
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (Springfield) - 100
Sun Life Financial Inc. (US) (Wellesley Hills) - 100
Tufts Health Plan (Watertown) - 100
TripAdvisor Inc. (Needham) - 100
Akamai Technologies Inc. (Cambridge) - 100
Fish & Richardson PC (Boston) - 95
Brown Rudnick LLP (Boston) - 100
Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP (Boston) - 100
Foley Hoag LLP (Boston) - 100
Goodwin Procter LLP (Boston) - 100
Goulston & Storrs (Boston) - 100
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo PC (Boston) - 100
Nixon Peabody LLP (Boston) - 100
Ropes & Gray LLP (Boston) - 100
General Electric Co. (Boston) - 100
Biogen (Cambridge) - 100
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co. (Boston) - 95
B J's Wholesale Club (Westborough) - 95
Staples Inc. (Framingham) - 100
TJX Companies Inc., The (Framingham) - 100
Key National Findings Revealed in the 2018 CEI
The CEI ates companies and top law firms on detailed criteria falling under five broad categories:
The full report, including a searchable employer database is available online at www.hrc.org/cei
