Porter Wright was ranked as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ employees by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation for the second year in a row. In the 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) report released today, Porter Wright earned a score of 90 out of 100.

The CEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. It rates employers providing crucial protections to over 18 million U.S. workers and an additional 17 million outside of the country. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune Magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses and American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), in which Porter Wright ranks 179th.

"We are so proud of the real progress we’ve made and will continue work to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace," said Karim Ali, Porter Wright’s Chief Diversity Officer. “We appreciate the real impact our initiatives and policies have on our LGBTQ+ team members.”

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling 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.

“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.”

Porter Wright is a member of the HRC’s Business Coalition for Equality, which supports the Equality Act—federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to LGBTQ+ people as are provided to other protected groups under federal law. Learn more about Porter Wright’s diversity, equity and inclusion work here.

The full 2021 CEI report is available here.