These Food & Bev Companies Rank Highest for LGBTQ Equality

While some countries seem to be taking a momentous step backward when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights, there are also hundreds of American companies and law firms that are actively working to protect workers who are part of this community.

Of the 571 companies and law firms that received perfect scores out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), 35 were food and beverage manufacturers and retailers.

The CEI rates companies based on four categories, which are non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, responsible citizenship and support an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility including a public commitment to LGBTQ equality.

American supermarket chain Giant Food Stores was included on this year’s perfect score list, and President Gordon Reid says his company is committed to providing a non-discriminatory workplace for all its employees.

“Giant is extremely proud to earn 100 percent on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index for the policies and practices we put into place across our stores,” said Reid. “At Giant, we are committed to diversity and embracing an inclusive workplace that represents the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of our communities.”

Without further ado, here are 35 Food and Beverage companies that pulled a perfect score when it comes to LGBTQ equality in the workplace:

“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 global operations and impacting millions of people beyond our shores,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “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 more than 170 that have joined HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Time and again, leading American businesses have shown that protecting their employees and customers from discrimination isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s also good for business.”

According to the survey, support for transgender workers has also shot up over the past several years. With more than 500 major employers adopting inclusion guidelines for transgender employees who are transitioning. While 83 percent of companies that participated in this year’s survey offered at least one healthcare policy that is inclusive of transgender employees, and 73 percent met new criteria that require the removal of all blanket exclusions of medically necessary care for transgender workers from all health policies offered by an employer.

Additionally, 16.8 million employees are protected from sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination by a corporate policy in the US. Also, the number of Fortune 500 companies incorporating gender identity as part of their non-discrimination policies has skyrocketed from 3 percent in 2002 to 85 percent.

More successful businesses are now prioritizing corporate social responsibility more than ever before, and that’s in part due to a changing consumer base, namely Millennials.  In a study by Horizon Media’s Finger on the Pulse, “81 percent of Millennials expect companies to make a public commitment to good corporate citizenship.” Demonstrating that organizations will have to evolve in order to stay relevant and profitable in a changing societal landscape.