Any private sector (non-government) and for- profit employer with 500 or more full-time U.S. employees that is not owned by a larger U.S.-incorporated entity can request to participate. Businesses interested in participating in the Corporate Equality Index are encouraged to contact the HRC Foundation Workplace Equality Program at cei@hrc.org. The Corporate Equality Index does not rate public sector (government) employers or businesses with fewer than 500 full-time U.S. employees.

Businesses owned by a larger U.S.-incorporated entity must be rated and represented on the CEI and its related publications as part of the larger entity. Exceptions to this policy are made on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the HRC Foundation, typically only for those businesses in a temporary restructuring process (e.g., temporarily owned or taken private by a private equity firm before being spun off as an independent entity or sold), or for situations where a subsidiary entity wishes to participate under the condition that the larger entity will participate in a subsequent year.

Because the CEI currently only rates policies and practices within the U.S., businesses that serve as the U.S. subsidiary of a foreign-based multi-national business are welcome to participate.

The above lists do not include employers owned or based in countries other than the United States. Foreign-owned private companies may submit a survey on behalf of their U.S. operations, as long as they have at least 500 full-time U.S. employees.

Due to resource limitations and limited public information about private employers, it is not possible for us to actively rate most employers without a survey.

Additionally, the HRC Foundation uses the following lists of the largest and most successful U.S. employers as a basis for inviting businesses to participate in the Corporate Equality Index:

• Fortune magazine's 1,000 largest publicly-traded businesses (the Fortune 1000),
• American Lawyer magazine's top 200 revenue grossing law firms (the AmLaw 200).

No, participation in the Corporate Equality Index survey and report is free.

Employers that have earned a 100 percent rating on the HRC Corporate Equality Index have satisfied all of the criteria for that year and are recognized as a "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality."

These criteria have been created to encourage employers to participate in the index and to advance the best practices for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion that should be expected of all large employers. The criteria have always been intended to evolve as more employers adopt existing criteria and new best practices emerge.

Click here to view the current CEI Criteria!

No, only those questions marked with an asterisk listing a corresponding criterion number affect your CEI score. We include several informational only questions in order to identify new and best practices.

No, the HRC Foundation does not require employers to make financial contributions to HRC in order to obtain a 100 percent. The CEI survey and report is administered and run by staff of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the 501(c)(3) educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, who do not have fundraising responsibilities.
The CEI awards credit under the Public Engagement criterion in the survey. Employers that have received credit on this criterion have collectively contributed to hundreds of local, state and national LGBTQ+ groups and events throughout the U.S. since 2002; HRC is just one of the many recipients of such support.

If your business is eligible and you are authorized to represent your employer and its policies, please e-mail cei@hrc.org to participate in the CEI. If you are not authorized to participate on your employer's behalf, please forward the appropriate contacts with name, position, e-mail and mailing address to us. Appropriate contacts can include professionals in:

• Human Resources,
• Diversity,
• Staffing,
• Marketing / Communications, or
• Counsel / Legal.

We will make sure they receive an invitation to participate in the survey either in the current or approaching year. Please note that it is best for individuals internal to the organization to approach these contacts first, to educate them on the value of the CEI and to secure a commitment on their part to participate.

If you are not an authorized agent for your employer but wish to provide the HRC Foundation Workplace Equality Program with updated information, please e-mail cei@hrc.org. Submissions of this nature are handled on a case-by-case basis. Please allow some time for the HRC Workplace Equality Program to verify your information.

The following dates are intended for planning purposes and subject to change:

For the duration of the 2022 calendar year, the CEI team will focus our efforts on educating employers on the new criteria. There will not be a new CEI survey in the field until Spring of 2023. This updated timeline will enable us to devote substantial time to providing additional education to employers on the new criteria. The next report will be released in November 2023.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions about the Corporate Equality Index at cei@hrc.org.

Review our Corporate Equality Index Myths vs. Facts resource here.