Sep 21, 2007  |  By: ELIZABETH PERRY  | COMMENTS     

A national index that rates corporations on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, saw an increase of 41 percent over last year in the number of local and national companies obtaining a perfect score of 100.

Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index was released in mid-August, just as Congress was considering the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. A House vote on the bill is expected in the next few weeks.

In a conference call about the index and what effect it could have on ENDA, Allison Herwitt, HRC’s legislative director, said her organization is working with Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to move the bill through the Senate. She said the index is useful in the Capitol Hill debate.

“It’s used as a tool to help companies understand why [the index] is good to track the best talent,” she said. “But it also shows how corporate America is far surpassing Capitol Hill on ENDA. It helps politicians understand that their constituents work for these companies.”

A number of major companies that scored 100 and were added to the HRC Corporate Equality Index for the first time include Yahoo!, Harrah’s Entertainment, Macy’s and Waste Management. Also added to the perfect score list were: Allstate Insurance, Electronic Arts, J.C. Penney, KeyCorp, Marriott International and MasterCard. Local companies new to a perfect rating were law firms Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauser and Feld; Crowell and Moring; and Dickstein Shapiro, all located in Washington; and Sodexho, a food and facilities management services company, in Gaithersburg, Md.

“We have seen the same kind of trends in Washington, Northern Virginia and Maryland as we have seen nationally,” said Daryl Herrschaft, director of the HRC’s Workplace Project. “Area companies such as Lockheed Martin in Bethesda have improved, moving up five points this year from 80 to 85. The five points they received this year were in the area of benefits for transgender employees.”

HRC released its first scores on equality in the workplace in 2002. The scale ranges from zero to 100. Only 13 national companies and no local companies received top scores in 2002, compared to the 2006 index when there were 138 national and four local. The 2008 index includes 195 national and nine local companies that scored 100.

Herrschaft said he has seen a surge in the implementation of gay-friendly policies, benefits and protections at law firms this year. He said Arnold and Porter was the only firm on last year’s list but three made it this year.

“Companies that have been doing well on the Corporate Equality Index are now demanding the same from the law firms they hire,” he said. “There is increasing insistence on diversity among the corporations they do business with.”

Elaine Arabatzis, an openly lesbian diversity/pro bono attorney for Dickstein Shapiro, said her firm employs a large number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, including 12 lawyers, three of whom are at partner level. She said all employees, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, are given health and domestic partner benefits.

She saw how supportive her workplace was when a transgender partner in the firm was transitioning. A letter of support, including an attached note from the partner, was sent from management to everyone at the company. When the partner’s transition was almost complete, another memo went out requesting employees call the partner by a new name.

“That’s really what this place is about,” Arabatzis said. “Since I came here in 2001 I have experienced total parity in how I’m treated.”

David Carlin, co-chair of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld’s Washington office’s diversity committee, said his company is proud to be recognized for successfully fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

“Akin Gump has long been an industry leader in GLBT equality issues,” he said in a statement. “We are pleased that the legal community as a whole is increasing its efforts in this area.”

Herrschaft said it is not unusual for companies to dip five points and drop off the perfect score list one year, only to reappear the next.

“In a lot of cases, they have been paying even closer attention to what their policies state,” he said. “Some corrections take place. As they understand transgender issues in the workplace they are better able to evaluate whether or not their policies are truly equal.”