Gannett earns perfect score on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual rating of LGBTQ+ workplace equality for sixth consecutive year
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today announced the company received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Gannett joins the ranks of 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.
“We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for the sixth consecutive year,” said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Fostering an inclusive and diverse culture is of the upmost importance at Gannett and this distinction acknowledges our unwavering commitment.”
“This honor recognizes our dedication to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workforce that celebrates the diverse backgrounds of our colleagues,” said Samantha Howland, Gannett’s Chief People Officer. “We are elated to receive a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.”
The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. The 2023-2024 CEI includes over 1,300 participants with non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity. These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe. Gannett’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.
“For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, CEI Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Workplace Equality. “Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families.”
The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.
Companies were rated by CEI based on detailed criteria focused on four central pillars:
● Non-discrimination policies across business entities
● Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families
● Supporting an inclusive culture
● Corporate social responsibility
The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.
