For the second year in a row, Citrix received a perfect score (100%) on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. It’s a huge accomplishment and it means that we are at the forefront of valuing diversity in the workplace.

Scoring 100% is not easy. This year, only 7.4% of the 5,093 rated CEI businesses achieved a perfect score. The average score for the entire Fortune 500, for example, was only 70%.

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and what they do

HRC is the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans. Their Corporate Equality Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices that create great workplaces for LGBTQ people.

The importance of this award for Citrix

The rapid progress that the LGBTQ community has made in recent years with marriage equality, hate crimes protection, and the ability to serve openly in the armed forces has actually left us vulnerable due to the lack of consistent federal protections in employment.

For example, when companies don’t have the right policies in place, LGBTQ employees run the risk of getting married on Sunday and being fired on Monday, just because they are gay (I know, it’s crazy!)

Luckily, we work for Citrix, which values all employees and is a leader in diversity efforts. These extra measures mean that we can feel safe bringing our whole selves to work each day.

What we did to achieve a perfect score

Last year, we received a score of 100% for the first time in the history of Citrix. After that, we knew we had to achieve 100% every year going forward, and that’s what we set out to do.

Here are the many ways Citrix has supported LGBTQ employees in 2017, which contributed to Citrix receiving a perfect score:

  • Non-discrimination workplace protections
  • Domestic partner benefits
  • Transgender-inclusive health care benefits
  • Competency programs
  • Public engagement with the LGBTQ community

We satisfied all of the criteria, earning the distinction of a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ equality.

In this ever diversifying workforce, we will continue to work toward improving our policies, benefits and businesses practices so that we can get a perfect score again next year.

If you have any thoughts or questions, post them in the Comments section below.