Seyfarth Earns Top Score of 100 in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index

NEW YORK (December 4, 2023) - Seyfarth Shaw LLP is proud to announce that the international law firm has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Seyfarth joins the ranks of 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

Seyfarth’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned the score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

“The Equality 100 Award and our CEI score of 100 reflect Seyfarth’s ongoing commitment to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging. We are full of pride that the Human Rights Campaign included our firm in the very top tier of American businesses who not only champion diversity but act on it, said Sam Schwartz-Fenwick, who leads Seyfarth’s LGBT Affinity Group. “Seyfarth has been extremely supportive of its LGBTQ+ employees at all levels. We focus on strategies that strengthen our culture, support our people, and attract top talent that reflects our communities. This is an ongoing effort that we will continue to emphasize.”

“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, Human Rights Campaign Sr 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 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 first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002. These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe.

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 (Am Law 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

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
• Corporate social responsibility

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more.

About Seyfarth

With more than 900 lawyers across 18 offices, Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides top tier advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide.

Contact: Tom Mariam, Director of Public Relations: 212-218-3366 or tmariam@seyfarth.com