ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the sixth year running, Unilever has been named one of the “Best Places to Work” by Human Rights Campaign, achieving a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index (“CEI.”) The CEI is used as a measure to rank U.S. companies on their treatment of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees, consumers and investors.
The 2014 CEI rated 934 businesses in the report, which evaluates LGBT-related policies and practices including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBT community.
“We are proud and honored for Unilever to once again be named as a Best Place to Work for LGBT employees and achieve a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the sixth year in a row,” said Sumeet Salwan, Unilever’s Senior Vice President, Human Resources. “At Unilever, we firmly believe that diversity, agile working and performance are all inherently connected. To build a high performing organization and meet our growth ambitions, we need to foster an inclusive environment where our diverse employees can bring all of themselves to work every day. Building flexibility and inclusion drives this output-oriented culture for us.”
Unilever supports the LGBT community at work through its PRIDE Network. PRIDE (People Respecting Individuality, Diversity and Equality) is an LGBT Diversity Network open to all Unilever employees that share a common goal of endorsing respect, individuality, diversity, and equality throughout the organization.
“From the great work of our PRIDE business resource group, to the activism of Ben & Jerry’s to the benefits available for domestic partners and spouses, this recognition demonstrates our commitment to our values of equality and celebrating differences across gender, ethnicity, LGBT, generations and different working styles,” Salwan added.
Unilever joins the ranks of 303 major U.S. businesses which also earned top marks this year. For more information on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index, visit www.hrc.org/cei.
About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In the United States the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragú, Simple, Slim-Fast, St. Ives, Suave, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Our ambition is to double the size of our business, while reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/.
Unilever employs more than 10,000 people in the United States – generating over $9 billion in sales in 2012. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com.
