HRC: American Airlines is an LGBT equality champ
It has been a big week for American Airlines. Not only did it officially merge with U.S. Airways to become the worlds largest airlines, American received the highest possible rating in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2014 Corporate Equality Index.
In a statement released Tuesday, American’s Vice President of People and Diversity Cindy Fiedelman said, “American Airlines has an enduring legacy which gives us all pride. Together with the leaders of GLEAM, American’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Employee Resource Group, we are committed to being a leader in equality and inclusion.”
A gold standard for corporate policies and practices related to LGBT employees and their families, the CEI rates companies on 40 such policies and practices. A total of 931 businesses have been rated in the 2014 CEI, including the entire Fortune 500. This year, a record 299 of the Fortune 500-ranked businesses have official CEI ratings, with the other 197 unofficially rated based upon publicly-available data.
In 2002 with the launch of the CEI, American was the only airline to achieve the CEI’s perfect score, and one of only a handful of corporations to do so every year since. And while U.S. Airways has rating of 90 in this year’s index, expectations are that the post-merger American will continue to maintain all of its LGBT-friendly benefits and policies and retain is perfect rating next year.
In addition to American, the index includes multiple hospitality companies among its top rankings:
Airlines
- Alaska – 90
- Delta – 90
- JetBlue – 90
- Southwest – 90
- United – 100
- Virgin America – 90
Hotels, Resorts & Casinos
- Caesars – 100
- Carlson – 85
- Choice – 100
- Disney – 100
- Hilton – 100
- Hyatt – 100
- InterContinental – 90
- Kimpton – 100
- Marriott – 100
- MGM – 100
- Starwood – 100
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – 100
- Tropicana Las Vegas – 90
- Wyndham – 100
- Wynn – 100
Car Rentals
- Aviz/Budget – 75
- Dollar/Thrifty – 70
Cruise Lines
- Carnival – 85
- Disney – 100
- Royal Caribbean – 80
Booking Services
- Expedia – 90
- Orbitz – 100
- Sabre Holdings (Travelocity) – 75
Tour Operators
- Travel Impressions – 80
The complete CEI is available at hrc.org/cei.
[Photo: American Airline at Chicago Pride 2013. Credit: American Airlines Rainbow Team]
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