Cushman & Wakefield earns perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality
CHICAGO - Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), a leading global real estate services firm, announced that it received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Cushman & Wakefield joins the ranks of 767 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.
“We are honored to be named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality,” said Nadine Augusta, Cushman & Wakefield’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. “Our firm is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment that offers equitable and fair growth opportunities for all our employees, which in turn drives innovation for our clients.”
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars: non-discrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and corporate social responsibility. Cushman & Wakefield’s efforts in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.
“From the previously unimaginable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020 was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ+ equality,” said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign President. “This year has shown us that tools like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways. Thank you to the companies that understand protecting their LGBTQ+ employees and consumers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do—but the best business decision.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s UNITY employee resource group (ERG) for LGBTQ+ employees grew more than 30% in 2020, reaching approximately 600 members in 17 chapters around the world. UNITY’s mission is to increase visibility and provide an open-minded support system for conducting business and addressing the personal requirements of Cushman & Wakefield’s LGBTQ+ and allies community.
“Top marks on the CEI for the third year in a row reflects the hard work and attention our UNITY group has put into providing the right LGTBQ+-related company resources, policies and trainings for our people around the world,” said Adam Stanley, Cushman & Wakefield’s CIO and Chief Digital Officer, and UNITY Executive Sponsor. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and look forward to continuing to advance UNITY’s mission to make Cushman & Wakefield the employer of choice in our industry and in the communities where we operate.”
UNITY has partnered with Cushman & Wakefield’s leadership team on a variety of initiatives, including: offering transgender-inclusive health care coverage; updating the firm’s global email signature guidelines to include optional use of preferred gender pronouns; applying self-identification options for LGBTQ+ employees; requiring vendors to follow the firm’s anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination guidelines; and requiring providing tools and resources to HR in order to actively recruit members of the LGBTQ+ community in roles throughout the Americas.
Additionally, in 2020, Cushman & Wakefield strengthened required diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training and launched the Global Employee Assistance Fund for employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
