For the sixth consecutive year, Air Products has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality.
Workplace diversity
“Striving to build a workplace where every employee knows they belong and the matter is part of our higher purpose,” said Victoria Brifo, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Air Products.
“As a company that operates around the globe, we know our diversity makes us stronger and helps produce better, more innovative solutions for our customers. We are pleased to again receive this recognition from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, but recognise there is always more work to be done.”
LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace
Air Products' efforts in promoting an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace earned a 100 percent ranking
The results of the 2022 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are not only promoting LGBTQ+-friendly and inclusive workplace policies in the U.S. but also workplaces abroad for the 56 percent of CEI-rated companies with global operations.
Air Products' efforts in promoting an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.
Aim of Corporate Equality Index
“When the Human Rights Campaign Foundation created the Corporate Equality Index 20 years ago, we dreamed that LGBTQ+ workers—from the factory floor to corporate headquarters, in big cities and small towns—could have access to the policies and benefits needed to thrive and live life authentically,” said Jay Brown, Human Rights Campaign senior vice president of Programs, Research and Training.
“We are proud that the Corporate Equality Index paved the way to that reality for countless LGBTQ+ workers in America and abroad.”
Equitable workplaces
We are raising the bar to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow for LGBTQ+ workers"
“But there is still more to do, which is why we are raising the bar yet again to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow for LGBTQ+ workers everywhere. Congratulations to Air Products for achieving the title of ‘Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ equality and working to advance inclusion in the workplace.”
The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million abroad. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly-traded businesses, The American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms, and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid-to-large-sized businesses.
CEI criteria
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
- And corporate social responsibility
Inclusive efforts
Air Products to achieve at least 28 percent female representation in its population globally by 2025
To continue its efforts to build a more inclusive workplace, Air Products recently announced a new goal to further increase the percentage of U.S. minorities in professional and managerial roles to 30 percent by 2025, up from a current level of more than 20 percent.
Air Products also had announced a goal to achieve at least 28 percent female representation in its professional and managerial population globally by 2025, up from a 25 percent baseline.
Protections to LGBTQ+ people
Also in 2021, Air Products joined the HRC‘s Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a group of U.S. employers that support the Equality Act, federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to LGBTQ+ people as are provided to other protected groups under federal law.
Air Products’ inclusion on the HRC’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality” list is the latest recognition for its efforts to build the most diverse industrial gas company workforce in the world. Air Products was also awarded a gold medal rating for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance from EcoVadis, a multinational CSR rating agency, for the fifth year in a row, and named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, published by 3BL Media, for the 10th consecutive year.