Record participation in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index

Lori Dee · September 14, 2024, 09:23:33 PM

Record participation in HRC's Corporate Equality Index despite right-wing DEI backlash
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Pink News - Written by Erik Niewiarowski
Sep 13, 2024

Despite several large companies publicly abandoning their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has seen a record participation in its latest Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which will be published early next year.

HRC president Kelley Robinson made the announcement on CNBC's Squawk Box, telling host Andrew Ross Sorkin: "We have over 1,400 hundred companies participating, representing over 21 million employees across this country."

In addition, the HRC Foundation has set up an email inbox, workers@hrc.org, for employees at companies that have stepped back from DEI efforts to anonymously share experiences of discrimination and the inclusion policies that still exist.

In response to several large American companies abandoning DEI programmes, the HRC has introduced significant deductions to their individual CEI scores. Ford, brewers Molson-Coors, Tractor Supply Co, agricultural manufacturers John Deere, home-improvement retailers Lowe's, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman all received 25-point deductions to their Responsibility Citizenship Criteria.

Business leaders retreating from the values of inclusion and equity are making a decision that alienates their queer employees and customers. The queer community brings $1.4 trillion (£1.06 trillion) in spending power, and close to 30 per cent of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+.

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Record participation in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index

Lori Dee