Employer Policies for Gay and Transgender Workers Improve in the US, Study Says

According to the new report by the The Human Rights Campaign Foundation an unprecedented growth in employer policies for Gay and Transgender Workers is currently seen in the United States of America.

The new report is known as The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index. It is released the fall of each year and provides an in-depth analysis and rating of large U.S. employers and their policies and practices pertinent to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees, consumers and investors. The complete report can bee downloaded by going to http://www.hrc.org/issues/ceihome.asp

According to the new report an unprecedented 195 major U.S. businesses earned the top rating of 100 percent, up from 138 last year - a 41 percent increase. The Index rates employers on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and

investors. The 195 businesses that met all of the criteria employ more than 8.3 million workers. When the Index was first released in 2002 only 13 companies, employing 690,000 workers, received the top rating.

The Corporate Equality Index, which this year rates 519 businesses, measures the extent to which employers protect their GLBT employees. Ratings are based on factors like non-discrimination policies, diversity training and benefits for domestic partners and transgender employees.

Here are some highlights of this year Corporate Equality Index report:

*57 companies have newly achieved a perfect score of 100 including companies such as Allstate Insurance Co., Electronic Arts Inc., J.C. Penney Co. Inc., KeyCorp, Macy's Inc., Marriott International Inc., Mastercard Inc., and Yahoo! Inc.

*For the first time, a majority of rated firms (58 %) provide employment protections on the basis of gender identity.

*Harrah's Entertainment Inc. is the first gaming industry company to achieve 100 percent.

*In the transportation and travel services industry, Travelport known for its travel sites such as Orbitz.com is the first to receive a perfect score.