Since January 2025, there has been all-out legal blitz on LGBTQ+ Americans. Through state and federal law making, as well as through agency action and “guidance”, virtually no aspect of life has been left untouched — from the criminalization of bathroom usage to the removal of legal protections surrounding housing and healthcare, many LGBTQ+ Americans are finding themselves living in hostile territory through a hostile time. In fact, as of writing this article, the ACLU notes that it is tracking 529 different anti-LGBTQ pieces of state legislation as they make their way through the legislative process.
Within this hostile framework, many LGBTQ+ Americans are simply trying to live their lives — to work, to raise their families, and to remain connected to the broader communities in which they live. As with any other challenging period in our history, discriminatory oppression elicits two responses from allies and community members alike — acts of solidarity and support and silence. Because of the simultaneous attack on workplace DEI programs and initiatives, many large corporate employers are choosing silence when it comes to their LGBTQ+ employees — even when it threatens their own bottom line.
In February 2026, the Human Rights Campaign released its 2026 State of the Workplace for LGBTQ+ Americans and Corporate Equality Index. Noting a steep drop in CEI participation among Fortune 500 companies (a 65% reduction from 2025), the HRC’s 2026 report focuses heavily on the financial impact of employer silence and capitulation. For example, the HRC noted that 40% of U.S. workers who responded to the HRC Foundation’s annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey reported that their employer reduced, rebranded, or eliminated at least one DEI-related practice since January 2025, and of that 40%, more than half stated that the scale-back of DEI in the workplace was accompanied by personal experiences of stigma and/or bias in those workplaces. 86% of those with hostile or negative experiences at work following the rollback of a DEI program or initiative stated that they were at risk of quitting, while 25% of these individuals admitted an understandable decrease in productivity throughout the year.
Pair this information with the HRC Foundation’s research conducted last summer with Whistle Stop Capital and the answer to decreased retention and productivity seems pretty obvious — “companies with strong, visible commitments to LGBTQ+ inclusion consistently outperform their peers across financial metrics most closely tied to durable health. Companies with the highest CEI scores achieved average revenue growth of 12.31% over fifteen years, more than twice the 5.23% growth recorded by the lowest scoring companies. Profitability outcomes reveal an even more pronounced gap. Top-quartile companies reported an average net income of 14.29% compared with 1.75% among the lowest performers, representing an eightfold difference.” And, even more importantly, “the strongest results are associated with companies that move beyond baseline non-discrimination protections to adopt more comprehensive inclusion measures.”
So what do these high-scoring CEI companies do so well? They transparently and equitably support and affirm their LGBTQ+ employee and the wider community. Frankly, the CEI criteria are good guideposts for any employer who wants to meaningfully bake inclusion policies into a corporate model or culture. Among other things, the CEI evaluates companies against “four core pillars” — non-discrimination protections, equitable and inclusive benefits, inclusive internal culture (looking specifically at training and accountability, workforce data collection, employer’s inclusion best practices, existence of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Councils), and external outreach and engagement (including recruiting practices, supplier/ vendor diversity, marketing and advertising practices, and philanthropic giving).
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