More Big Firms Are Dropping Human Rights Campaign's LGBTQ+ Rights Report Cards

The Human Rights Campaign Its original report card, called the Corporate Equality Index, focused on ensuring that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer employees did not face discrimination in hiring and employment. Only 13 companies received a perfect score in 2002. By last year545 companies did so, despite the fact that the requirements have become more stringent.

But the metrics system itself has come under attack in recent months from conservative activists who have targeted businesses as part of a broader pushback diversity initiatives. Ford, Harley Davidson and Lowe's are among the companies that have announced they will I'm no longer participating in the Corporate Equality Index.

Inspired Supreme Court decision Last year, conservative groups that declared affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional won lawsuits making similar arguments about corporations. Now they have set their sights on workplace initiatives such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups, as well as expanding on his objections include programming that addresses gender identity and sexual orientation.

“We don’t believe that people should be identified as groups and that past wrongs should be corrected by giving advantages to one group and disadvantages to another,” said Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Equality Under Law Project at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. His firm has represented dozens of clients in disputes with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Critics lament the backsliding, saying it undoes years of hard-won progress.

“Almost everyone in the LGBT community has been bullied as a youth, and the idea of ​​being bullied is deeply disturbing to us. … It feels like you’re letting the bullies win,” said David Paisley, senior director of research at Community Marketing & Insights, which helps companies market to LGBTQ+ consumers.

What is the Corporate Equality Index?

While many of the problems with DEI programs have centered on race, activists working to change corporate policies they deride as “woke” have made it their mission to demand that companies stop participating in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. Most companies that recently announced changes DEI approaches have been made to them.

As with LGBTQ+ rights in the US, the requirements that corporations must meet to receive a high score on the annual index have become more stringent over the years.

In 2004, the index placed greater emphasis on providing comprehensive benefits to domestic partners and improving health insurance for transgender workers. It later added categories that gave employers points for promoting equality in the broader LGBTQ+ community.

In 2019, it said supplier diversity programs, which encourage companies to work with minority- or veteran-owned businesses, should include LGBTQ+ suppliers. By 2022, the index said employers should offer same-sex spouses and common-law partners the same benefits as other couples for in vitro fertilization and adoption, and that employers should create gender transition guidelines, as well as other changes.

What was the effect?

Experts say the index has helped improve workplace benefits for LGBTQ+ people. The index has also prompted many companies to create employee resource groups, which are voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion groups for people with a common background or identity, said Fabrice Houdart, an LGBTQ+ consultant.

Paisley noted that the index is also a resource that LGBTQ+ workers can refer to before making hiring decisions.

“A company getting 100% versus a company getting 25% is an indicator to our community of which companies are treating their employees more fairly and equally,” he said.

Why do companies leave the index?

Several major companies have announced that they terminate your participation on the index amid pressure from conservative activists threatening boycotts and companies like the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty challenging DEI programs.

“We don't have a problem with non-discrimination, but we are concerned that this policy goes too far and harms innocent third parties who either have religious objections or are excluded from participation because they are not LGBTQ or a particular race,” Lennington said.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley told employees the company had stopped participating in external culture surveys, citing the wide range of beliefs held by employees and customers and the evolving legal environment. He said Ford does not use hiring quotas or tie compensation to diversity goals.

Harley-Davidson published a statement on X about being excluded from the index, adding that the company has no hiring quotas or supplier diversity spending goals, and that employee resource groups will focus solely on professional development, networking and mentoring.

When Lowe's announced it was leaving the index, the company said it was consolidating its resource groups into one umbrella organization. It also plans to stop sponsoring and participating in some festivals and parades to ensure the company's policies are legal and consistent with its commitment to inclusion.

Brown-Formanthe company that produces Jack Daniel's whiskey and is also a beer and beverage company Molson Courseemphasized that they would no longer participate in HRC's corporate survey, in their statements about cutting their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Legal threats

Dozens of court cases Lawsuits have been filed against employers over DEI initiatives, including complaints targeting hiring practices, employee support groups, or mentoring programs that plaintiffs say prioritize people of certain races or sexual identities over others.

Most U.S. companies began reviewing their DEI programs last summer after the Supreme Court ruling. Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the labor and employment practices group at law firm Gibson Dunn, which has helped more than 50 large corporations audit their DEI programs.

“The opponents of these efforts are winning the war of words and they have a lot of clout in the courtroom, so I think this is a serious threat that needs to be addressed thoughtfully,” Schwartz said.

But there’s a downside. Companies created anti-harassment DEI programs in part to mitigate the potential legal risks that come with a toxic workplace, and “dropping those programs actually puts them at risk in the future if employees feel discriminated against or harassed,” said Eric Bloom, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Alienation of a growing customer base

Companies that distance themselves from the Corporate Equality Index also risk alienating a growing group of customers. Gallup poll A March survey found that 7.6 percent of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or have a sexual orientation other than heterosexual, up from 3.5 percent in 2012. Among Generation Z, that figure has jumped to 22.3 percent.

In an August survey, 80% of LGBTQ+ customers said they would boycott companies that roll back inclusivity initiatives, and more than half said they would voice their concerns on social media or share negative reviews online, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

“I think they’re going to end up losing LGBT talent and LGBT consumers,” Hudart said. “And parents of transgender kids, of which there are a growing number in the U.S., are likely to remember that these were the companies that went out of their way to side with bullies.”