Corporate Equality Index: The Finance Industry Continues to Lead the Way in LGBTQ Workplace Inclusion

January 28, 2021 at 9:00 AM Eastern

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, released its 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring company policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. The CEI comes out after a year the nation has faced a global pandemic, legitimate racial injustice and national unrest. Within this climate, the banking and finance sector has continued to advance vital workplace protections for LGBTQ employees around the world, as acknowledged in this report.

The banking and financial services industry is part of the 1,142 major U.S. businesses that were also ranked in the 2021 CEI, the largest number of companies to be ranked to date. 119 companies in the banking and financial services sector have been designated a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality for their efforts in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria results in a 100 percent ranking.

“From the previously unimaginable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020 was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ equality,” said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign President. “This year has shown us that tools like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways. Thank you to the companies that understand protecting their LGBTQ employees and consumers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do—but the best business decision.”
 

2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI)
CompanyHQ CityHQ State2021 CEI Score

AllianceBernstein LP

Nashville

Tenn.

100

Ally Financial Inc.

Detroit

Mich.

100

Amalgamated Bank

New York

N.Y.

100

American Express Company

New York

N.Y.

100

American Express Global Business Travel

Jersey City

N.J.

100

Apollo Global Management Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

AQR Capital Management LLC

Greenwich

Conn.

100

Ares Management LLC

Los Angeles

Calif.

100

Bank of America Corp.

Charlotte

N.C.

100

Bank of New York Mellon Corp., The

New York

N.Y.

100

Bank of the West

San Francisco

Calif.

100

Barclays

New York

N.Y.

100

BBVA USA

Birmingham

Ala.

100

Berkshire Bank

Boston

Mass.

100

BlackRock

New York

N.Y.

100

Blackstone Group LP, The

New York

N.Y.

100

Bloomberg LP

New York

N.Y.

100

BMO Financial Corp.

Chicago

Ill.

100

BNP Paribas

New York

N.Y.

100

Bridgewater Associates LP

Westport

Conn.

100

Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.

Lake Success

N.Y.

100

Brown Advisory

Baltimore

Md.

100

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

New York

N.Y.

100

Cambridge Associates LLC

Boston

Mass.

100

Capital Group Companies Inc., The

Los Angeles

Calif.

100

Capital One Financial Corp.

McLean

Va.

100

Carlyle Group LP, The

Washington

District of Columbia

100

Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.

San Francisco

Calif.

100

CIT Group Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

Citigroup Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

Citizens Financial Group

Providence

R.I.

100

CME Group Inc.

Chicago

Ill.

100

Comerica Inc.

Dallas

Texas

100

Credit Suisse USA Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., The

New York

N.Y.

100

Deutsche Bank

New York

N.Y.

100

Discover Financial Services

Riverwoods

Ill.

100

Eastern Bank Corporation/Eastern Bankshares, Inc.

Boston

Mass.

100

Eaton Vance

Boston

Mass.

100

Edward Jones

Des Peres

Mo.

100

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac)

McLean

Va.

100

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)

Washington

District of Columbia

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Atlanta

Ga.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Boston

Mass.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Chicago

Ill.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Cleveland

Ohio

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Kansas City

Mo.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Minneapolis

Minn.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

New York

N.Y.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Pa.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Richmond

Va.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

San Francisco

Calif.

100

Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis

Saint Louis

Mo.

100

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

Jacksonville

Fla.

100

Fifth Third Bancorp

Cincinnati

Ohio

100

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Washington

District of Columbia

100

First American Financial Corp.

Santa Ana

Calif.

100

Fiserv Inc.

Brookfield

Wis.

100

Fitch Group Inc

New York

N.Y.

100

Franklin Templeton Investments

San Mateo

Calif.

100

Global Payments Inc.

Atlanta

Ga.

100

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., The

New York

N.Y.

100

H&R Block Inc.

Kansas City

Mo.

100

HSBC USA

New York

N.Y.

100

Huntington Bancshares Inc.

Columbus

Ohio

100

Invesco Ltd.

Atlanta

Ga.

100

Janus Henderson Investors

Denver

Colo.

100

John Hancock Financial Services Inc.

Boston

Mass.

100

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

New York

N.Y.

100

KeyCorp

Cleveland

Ohio

100

KKR & Co. LP

New York

N.Y.

100

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC

Jersey City

N.J.

100

LPL Financial Holdings Inc.

Boston

Mass.

100

M&T Bank Corp.

Buffalo

N.Y.

100

Macquarie Group Ltd.

New York

N.Y.

100

Mastercard

Purchase

N.Y.

100

Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc.

Chicago

Ill.

100

Moody's Corp.

New York

N.Y.

100

Morgan Stanley

New York

N.Y.

100

Morningstar Inc.

Chicago

Ill.

100

MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

New York

N.Y.

100

NASDAQ Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

Neuberger Berman Group LLC

New York

N.Y.

100

Nomura

New York

N.Y.

100

Northern Trust Corp.

Chicago

Ill.

100

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance

Milwaukee

Wis.

100

PIMCO LLC

Newport Beach

Calif.

100

PNC Financial Services Group Inc., The

Pittsburgh

Pa.

100

Prudential Financial Inc.

Newark

N.J.

100

Raymond James Financial Inc.

St. Petersburg

Fla.

100

RBC Capital Markets LLC

New York

N.Y.

100

RBC Wealth Management

Minneapolis

Minn.

100

Regions Financial Corp.

Birmingham

Ala.

100

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated

Milwaukee

Wis.

100

Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland

Mass.

100

S&P Global Inc.

New York

N.Y.

100

Seacoast National Bank

Stuart

Fla.

100

Société Générale

New York

N.Y.

100

Standard Chartered

New York

N.Y.

100

State Street Corp.

Boston

Mass.

100

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

New York

N.Y.

100

Synchrony

Stamford

Conn.

100

T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

Baltimore

Md.

100

TD Ameritrade

Omaha

Neb.

100

TD Bank, N.A.

Cherry Hill

N.J.

100

TD Securities (USA) LLC

New York

N.Y.

100

TIAA

New York

N.Y.

100

TPG Global LLC

Fort Worth

Texas

100

TransUnion

Chicago

Ill.

100

Truist Financial

Atlanta

Ga.

100

U.S. Bancorp

Minneapolis

Minn.

100

UBS AG

New York

N.Y.

100

United Services Automobile Association

San Antonio

Texas

100

Vanguard Group Inc.

Malvern

Pa.

100

Visa

San Francisco

Calif.

100

Voya Financial

New York

N.Y.

100

Waddell & Reed Financial Inc.

Overland Park

Kan.

100

Wells Fargo & Co.

San Francisco

Calif.

100

William Blair & Company LLC

Chicago

Ill.

100

CNO Financial Group Inc.

Carmel

Ind.

95

Pacific Life Insurance Co.

Newport Beach

Calif.

95

UW Credit Union

Madison

Wis.

95

Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Minneapolis

Minn.

90

Commerce Bank

Kansas City

Mo.

90

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC (MBFS)

Farmington Hills

Mich.

90

Navient

Wilmington

Del.

90

Old National Bank

Evansville

Ind.

90

Empower Retirement

Greenwood Village

Colo.

85

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Dallas

Texas

85

Fidelity Investments

Boston

Mass.

85

LendingClub

San Francisco

Calif.

85

Western Union Co., The

Denver

Colo.

85

Alliance Data Systems Corp.

Columbus

Ohio

80

Flagstar Bancorp Inc.

Troy

Mich.

80

United Nations Federal Credit Union

Long Island City

N.Y.

80

First Horizon National Corp.

Memphis

Tenn.

75

Johnson Financial Group

Racine

Wis.

70

Oaktree Capital Management LP

Los Angeles

Calif.

70

SLM Corp. (Sallie Mae)

Newark

Del.

70

CIBC Bank USA

New York

N.Y.

60

Loews Corp.

New York

N.Y.

55

CoreLogic

Irvine

Calif.

50

The CEI has successfully worked with the country’s top corporations and business leaders, helping them break new ground each year in workplace equality. The CEI is one tool among many for savvy consumers and the public at-large to assess where they want to work or spend their dollars. While the CEI cannot be a barometer for the full-scope of workplace culture, it does work to create a foundation upon which employees can work to rectify their concerns and feel more comfortable living and working as their true selves.

The most considerable progress measured over the 19 year history of the CEI, and continuing in 2021, has been has been the wide-scale adoption of transgender-inclusive initiatives across businesses.

  • A full 94 percent of the Fortune 500 and 99.7 percent of all CEI rated businesses have gender identity protections in their nondiscrimination policies—up from 3 percent and 5 percent respectively since the launch of the CEI in 2002.
  • 71 percent of the Fortune 500 and 91 percent of all CEI-rated businesses offer transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage, up from 0 in 2002, and 22 times as many businesses as ten years ago.
    • 97 new employers offer this coverage according to the 2021 report.

Other key findings revealed in the 2021 CEI:

  • The 767 companies who earned a 100 on the CEI represent over 13 million employees nationally, and another 13 million globally.
  • Of all Fortune 500 companies, 458 have sexual orientation in their U.S. non-discrimination policy, and 448 have gender identity.
  • The average CEI score for all Fortune 500 companies increased from 73 to 76 in the past year—with actively participating Fortune 500 companies having an average score of 91 percent, up from 89 percent last year.

Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

The CEI criteria are reviewed annually and periodically changed, raising the bar to reflect best practices for LGBTQ inclusion and to drive companies to improve upon their commitment to the community. The 2021 CEI criteria are the 5th iteration in the survey’s 19-year history and reflect our most robust standards to date. The criteria fall under four central pillars:

  • Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
  • Equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families;
  • Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
  • Corporate social responsibility.

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 equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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