Southwest Airlines tops Corporate Equality Index for 9th straight year

Friday, February 23, 2024

Southwest Airlines Co. is delighted to share that it has achieved a perfect score of 100 on the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This index is a leading benchmarking survey and report in the United States, assessing corporate policies and practices concerning LGBTQ+ workplace equality. This marks the ninth consecutive year that the airline has secured a top score on the CEI, highlighting its continuous commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Alongside Southwest Airlines®, 545 other major U.S. businesses have also received the highest scores this year.

“Southwest has a long history of putting our People first, and this recognition highlights our continued commitment to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for our LGBTQ+ Employees,” said Juan Suarez, Vice President Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Southwest Airlines.

The results of the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) highlight the efforts of U.S.-based corporations to implement LGBTQ+-inclusive workplace policies both domestically and internationally. From its inaugural year with 319 participants, the CEI has seen significant growth, with the latest edition featuring 1,384 companies. This expansion reflects the increasing scope and influence of the CEI. A historic number of 1,340 companies now have explicit non-discrimination policies that include gender identity, a substantial increase from only 17 in 2002. These essential policies extend protections to 21 million employees across the United States and worldwide. Southwest Airlines’ commitment to fulfilling all of the CEI’s requirements resulted in a perfect score of 100, earning the airline the Equality 100 Award for Leadership in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

“For over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices around workplace inclusion. While there’s much more work to do, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community recognizing the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr 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 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) evaluates employers who extend vital protections to over 20 million workers in the U.S. Additionally, the CEI encompasses companies that impact another 18 million employees internationally, including those from Fortune magazine’s list of the 500 largest publicly traded companies, the top 200 revenue-generating law firms according to American Lawyer magazine (AmLaw 200), and numerous mid- to large-sized public and private companies.

To earn the CEI recognition, companies must excel in detailed criteria within four key areas:

• Implementation of non-discrimination policies across all business operations;
• Provision of equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and their families;
• Promotion of an inclusive culture; and
• Engagement in corporate social responsibility initiatives.

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