Companies Going the Extra Mile to Support LGBTQIA+ Employees
In recent years, many major companies have come forward in support of their LGBTQIA+ employees — which is crucial given that nearly half of LGBTQIA+ employees today reported that they experienced unfair treatment at work, and that the workplace is the second most common area where members of the LGBTQIA+ community experience discrimination (after ‘public spaces’). This Pride Month, we’re recognizing companies that are putting in the work to welcome LGBTQIA+ employees with open arms, and making the workplace a more inclusive place for all.
For Asurion, the world’s largest tech care solutions company, LGBTQIA+ inclusivity is a key asset to its business. Asurion’s PRIDE Employee Resource Group is one of 10 ERGs in the company, and in 2021, Asurion received a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign for a third consecutive year. This honor recognizes Asurion’s commitment to ensuring transgender medical coverage is provided through insurance carriers; adding a domestic partner insurance stipend for partners of all genders; creating a gender transition guide for Asurion team members; adding inclusive gender and sexuality language to its Equal Opportunity Employment Commission statement; and recruiting and retaining top LGBTQIA+ talent.
Avis Budget Group is a leading provider of mobility options with a unique approach to diverse recruitment — which includes posting open roles to more than 600 employment and diversity websites, as well as building relationships with local diversity organizations that directly partner with LGBTQIA+ community members, domestic violence survivors, refugees, and more. Avis has also been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for excellence in LGBTQIA+ equality in the workplace, and has a number of LGBTQIA+ ERGs facilitating discussions around best practices and resources for better inclusivity. Avis is also committed to supporting diverse suppliers, taking pride in contributing to the overall economic growth of the communities where they do business.
Bank of the West, which supports over two million American families, businesses, and individuals with financial tools and resources, is also driving change for workplace inclusivity. The company provides health benefits for same-sex partners regardless of marital status, and it’s PRIDE ERG actively volunteers in the community. Like its neighboring companies on this list, Bank of the West has also been recognized as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality and Diversity by the Human Rights Campaign.
Cardinal Health is a global pharmaceuticals manufacturer and distributor, providing data and performance solutions for healthcare facilities around the world. Another high scorer with the Human Rights Campaign, Cardinal Health boasts seven ERGs, including PROUD, which helps the company achieve a fully inclusive culture, create an engaged workforce, and sustain the development of LGBTQIA+ employees. Additionally, Cardinal Health offers training courses focused on challenging stereotypes in the workplace and building professional relationships across differences.
Colgate-Palmolive Company is a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. For the sixth year in a row, the company earned a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign, and in 2022 was officially registered as a Safe Space for LGBTQIA+ community members by Safe Space Alliance. Internally, the company runs programming year-round for its LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Groups, and has shown its commitment to inclusivity outside the office by signing onto the amicus brief to petition the Supreme Court to recognize marriage equality. Colgate-Palmolive supports organizations like Live Out Loud and the Ali Forney Center and is a member of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
KeyBank is an American financial services provider dedicated to diversity in the workforce, spending more than $1 billion on diverse suppliers, as well as being named a 14-time winner of the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality (2008-2011, 2013-2022). KeyBank also offers 12 ERGs for employees to join, including a PRIDE employee networking group. The company also hosts a number of LGBTQIA+ equality-related initiatives in its headquartered city, Cleveland, including film screenings and financing an LGBTQIA+ senior living center.
Lumen is a technology solutions company bringing clients network, cloud, security, and communication solutions, and has been recognized with a top score from the Human Rights Campaign in its 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates that Lumen not only provides an excellent place for LGBTQIA+ employees to work, but is actively advancing inclusion across the globe. A few ways Lumen does so is by encouraging LGBTQIA+ team members to join the Lumen Pride ERG, as well as offering equitable health benefits for transgender employees and parents of LGBTQIA+ family members.
Merck & Co (known globally as MSD) is a global pharmaceutical company that innovates life-saving medications and vaccines. They are also a widely-recognized inclusive company, just this year being named a Human Rights Campaign Best Place To Work for LGBTQIA+ Equality. The company offers transgender-inclusive benefits, an adoption and surrogacy reimbursement program, and a Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace policy to ensure safety and affirmative community for trans and non-binary employees. Plus, the Merck Rainbow Alliance is an ERG that boasts more than 1,600 members across the globe.
Millennium Management, a global investment management firm, operates under the idea that companies are responsible to “empower people to bring their true selves to work.” One way Millennium Management supports its employees at work is by joining as a member company of Out Leadership, the oldest and largest coalition of global companies working to improve LGBTQIA+ equality around the world. In addition to its partnership, the company is also proud to support programming for its employee resource group, MLPride, which is a diverse network of LGBTQIA+ employees and allies working to raise awareness and give back to their community.
While innovating the grocery experience, PeaPod Digital Labs has received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for three years in a row. The company’s LGBTQIA+ ERG, dubbed PridePod, helps create a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQIA+ employees by building awareness and education around the LGBTQIA+ community. More highlights of PeaPod Digital Labs’ LGBTQIA+ inclusion efforts include programming and events like “International Pronouns Day”, an emphasis on supplier diversity, and notable donations to organizations for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Food and beverage company, The Kraft Heinz Company, is a proud supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, earning a perfect score four years in a row from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for its work to implement transitioning guidelines and for matching donations for LGBTQIA+ organizations. The company was also marked a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” — a status it reached through the efforts of its active LGBTQIA+ Business Resource Group. Other improvements the company made around that time include providing all-gender restrooms, improving its supplier diversity statements, and ensuring that it is welcoming to LGBTQIA+ applicants by creating inclusive recruitment practices through partnerships with LGBTQIA+ alumni and LGBTQIA+ career groups across the country.
Travelers continually earns a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index because of its many initiatives that support an inclusive workplace. Among Travelers’ related programs are its Pride & Allies Diversity Network, which focuses on advancing the development of LGBTQ+ professionals within the company; a required conscious inclusion workshop that explores biases and their impact in the workplace; health insurance benefits for transitioning employees and family members enrolled in the company’s medical plans; and a speaker series designed to create a culture that embraces the power of difference.
UKG is a globally recognized provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions that helps more than 70,000 organizations around the world anticipate and adapt to their employees’ needs. It’s only fitting then that the company is attuned to its own employees’ needs as well, and has earned a 100% on the Corporate Equality Index and was named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” in 2022. UKG’s company employee resource groups (ERGs) include an LGBTQ Pride Group for employees and allies, and its generous benefits are inclusive to all — which include 100% company-paid healthcare premiums, with coverage for IVF treatments and gender-affirming surgeries, and extend to spouses, domestic partners, and dependents.
Home appliance company Whirlpool is in constant pursuit of improving life at home through the appliances we use every day. They are also in constant pursuit of improving life at work, integrating a number of policies that have earned the company a spot on the Human Rights Campaign’s "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality" for 19 years running. The company has a Pride Network to help create a fully inclusive work environment while promoting equality, connect its brands with LGBTQIA+ consumers, and support its employees and the community as a whole. Whirlpool also hosts an annual Global Inclusion Week, offering employees around the globe unique training opportunities and learning engagements about unconscious bias. Whirlpool is also a corporate partner with PFLAG’s Straight For Equality campaign, which provides learning materials for allies to help create even stronger and more equitable work environments.
All the companies listed are walking the walk when it comes to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in the workforce. Whether you’re an LGBTQIA+ student looking to join a new company, or a professional interested in working for an organization that prioritizes inclusivity in the workforce, be sure to keep these companies on your radar.
