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RS Earns a 95/100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023-2024 Corporate Equality IndexThe HRC Foundation's annual CEI is the leading U.S. assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality, and as a proudly inclusive company, RS is honored to have increased its ranking by 15 points this year. FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- RS, a trading brand of RS Group plc (LSE: RS1), a global provider of product and service solutions for industrial customers, has received a score of 95 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023–2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights advocacy organization, and the CEI is the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality.
RS is honored to have increased its ranking on the HRC Foundation's Corporate Equality Index by 15 points this year. The first CEI, in 2002, featured 319 participating businesses. The 2023–2024 CEI features 1,384 major U.S. businesses — a 334% increase — and showcases how U.S.-based companies are successfully promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. Further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, this year's data revealed that 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 now cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe. The CEI rates employers providing crucial LGBTQ+ protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated on 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. The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:
"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 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." "We're extremely proud to have improved our ranking on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023–2024 Corporate Equality Index," said Katie Cartwright, RS Vice President of People and Culture – Americas. "Last year marked our first year of participation in the CEI survey, and we leveraged the insights provided by our inaugural evaluation to further expand the policies and benefits designed to support our LGBTQ+ team members. Creating an inclusive environment where our people can bring their best selves to work is fundamental to our success. So, we're both pleased and proud to have demonstrably improved equity and inclusion in our workplace over the course of the last HRC CEI evaluation cycle,and we remain committed to listening, learning, and growing and ensuring that our employees are heard, represented, and respected at work." In 2022, RS extended employee benefits eligibility to domestic partners, added paid leave for adoptive parents, and expanded its health insurance coverage to include transgender medical services. In 2023, RS:
Other companies that earned a score of 95 on the HRC Foundation's 2023–2024 CEI include 1-800-FLOWERS, Adidas North America, Advance Auto Parts, Advanced Micro Devices, AirBnB, Allianz Life Insurance – North America, Ally Financial, AstraZeneca, BP America, Cisco Systems, Deere & Co., Dropbox, Foot Locker, Gap, The Hearst Corporation, Kaiser Permanente, Kellogg, Kohl's, Merck, MetLife, Michelin North America, Peloton Interactive, Petco Health & Wellness, The PNC Financial Services Group, Rockwell Automation, Rolls-Royce North America, Sony Electronics, Target, The Cigna Group, Tillamook, Tractor Supply, Under Armour, United Airlines, Walgreens, Wells Fargo, and Wendy's. For more information about the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), please visit www.hrc.org/cei to access the full report. For more information about RS, please visit us.rs-online.com/about-us/. About The Human Rights Campaign Foundation About RS in the Americas About RS Group We support customers across the product lifecycle, whether via innovation and technical support at the design phase, improving time to market and productivity at the build phase, or reducing purchasing costs and optimizing inventory in the maintenance, repair, and operation phase. We offer our customers tailored product and service propositions that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses and help them save time and money. RS Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with stock ticker RS1 and in the year ended 31 March 2023 reported revenue of £2,982 million. For more information, please visit https://www.rsgroup.com/ or connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Image Download: Editorial Contact & Media Inquiries:
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