US' VF Corporation leads in 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index

“At VF, we envision an organisation where everyone can be celebrated for their uniqueness and feel like they belong. We are committed to ensuring all associates, including our LGBTQ+ associates and allies, feel VF is an inclusive environment that supports authenticity and individuality,” said Lauren Guthrie, vice president, Global Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Action (IDEA) & Talent Development. “We are honored to be recognised for our ongoing commitment to our LGBTQ+ associates and be among these leading businesses.”

“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 recognises the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn ‘Shawnie’ Hawkins, Human Rights campaign senior 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 US-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the US 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 US and around the globe. VF’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million US workers and an additional 18 million outside of the US companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid to large-sized businesses.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)