Human Rights Campaign’s equality index sees a 65% decline in Fortune 500 participation

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released its annual State of the Workplace report on Feb. 4, and while some numbers signal some DEI rollbacks, it seems LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts remain widespread.

HRC released its first Corporate Equality Index (CEI) in 2002 to provide a framework for how businesses can build more inclusive workplaces. While 1,450 businesses participated in the latest index, roughly the same as the previous report, there was a 65% decrease in participation from Fortune 500 companies.

Regardless, 108 Fortune 500 businesses still achieved a score of 100 on the 2026 index. The report cautioned that the decrease in participation does not necessarily mean that employers have eliminated LGBTQ+-inclusive policies. Instead, it may indicate that companies have bent to pressure from the far right to abandon some DEI programming, including external benchmarking programs.

Companies including Target, Amazon, Walmart, and Verizon agreed to forego all external benchmarking, amid pressure from conservative activists and politicians in the summer of 2024, HR Brew reported previously.

“The data does not indicate a rollback of workplace inclusion,” the report said. “Instead, the decline in submissions reflects a shift in how employers are approaching transparency in the current environment.”

The report found that 72% of all Fortune 500 companies (including those that did not participate in the index) provide transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, and 93% have gender identity protections in their nondiscrimination policies.

Thirty-nine percent of workers reported that their employer, to various degrees, backed away from at least one DEI initiative over the last year, something that HRC said could inhibit an employee’s productivity and ability to show up authentically.

“Many companies communicated they were shifting their long-standing practices around inclusion but often failed to explicitly state how employees would be impacted. This lack of clarity has real consequences for workers,” the report said.

More than one in four (26.5%) LGBTQ+ adults in the US said they were “less out” at work over the last year, and more than half of workers at companies with reduced DEI programming felt more stigma about their identity, the report said, pulling data from its Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey.

“After decades of progress, many LGBTQ+ workers are once again calculating risk instead of assuming safety,” the report said. “When employers retreat publicly, workers retreat emotionally.”

Most companies that participated in this year’s benchmarking pursue a range of LGBTQ+ initiatives, including those related to recruitment, training, and philanthropic endeavors, indicating an overall sustained commitment to inclusion. Nearly eight in 10 of participating employers provide at least one training or development “element” incorporating LGBTQ+-related topics, and at least 60% offer employees at least one avenue to self-identify as LGBTQ+.

Nearly all (97%) have an ERG or diversity council with LGBTQ+ programming for the community and its allies. And 77% of businesses conduct community outreach, including recruitment and marketing efforts, and philanthropic support.

Anti-DEI government directives and workplace exclusion continue to have an outsized impact on transgender and nonbinary workers. The US passed 126 anti-trans bills in 2025 alone, leaving employers to navigate a complex, sometimes unclear legal system. The Trump administration has tried to limit transgender rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken steps to reduce workplace protections for transgender and nonbinary workers, HR Brew reported previously.

Still, most businesses in the CEI have transgender-inclusive policies, including health benefits (91%) and those that provide an inclusive experience for transgender and nonbinary workers (74%), such as offering inclusive restrooms, gender-neutral dress codes, and guidance on pronouns.

The report emphasized that it’s important for businesses to provide inclusive environments for everyone, and employers to be clear about their commitment to equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

“Our research shows the strength and the strain of this moment on LGBTQ+ workers, consumers and the companies that count on us,” Kelley Robinson, president of HRC, said in a statement. “It remains unconstitutional to discriminate against LGBTQ+ workers…But LGBTQ+ workers are experiencing increased hostility in companies that abandon commitments to diversity and inclusion that are both lawful and a benefit to the bottom line.”