Giant Food Earns Top Score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index

Giant earns 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality

LANDOVER, Md., Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Giant Food, the leading greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, proudly announced it has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023 Corporate Equality Index, the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Giant Food joins the ranks of over 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

"Giant Food is extremely proud to have earned a score of 100 for the fifth consecutive year on the Corporate Equality Index for the practices we have established to foster and support a diverse and inclusive workplace for our LGBTQ+ team members," said Brian Wanner, Vice President of Human Resources at Giant Food. "We are committed to embracing and advancing a workplace that represents and celebrates the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of our team members and communities helping create a culture in which we can all grow, care and belong."

Giant has consistently worked to implement and advance a range of programs, policies and practices to promote inclusivity and diversity. Just this year, the company has introduced or expanded upon several training, education, employee benefit and partnership efforts including:

• Ongoing Gender Inclusivity training for all employees
• Creation of employee LGBTQ+ Benefits Guide
• Creation of employee Gender Transition Guidelines
• Added Restroom Guidelines signage
• Addition of employee pronouns to name and security badges
• Involvement in regional Pride celebrations including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore

"For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion," said RaShawn "Shawnie" Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr Director of Workplace Equality. "Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families." 

The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002. These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe. Giant Food's efforts in satisfying all the CEI's criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine's 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine's top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

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.

The full report is available online at https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index.

About Giant Food
Since opening its first location 87 years ago in Washington, D.C. in 1936, Giant has been an integral part of the communities and customers it serves. Giant is committed to being a Better Neighbor and has designated four main giving pillars that address local Food Insecurity, Military Support, Pediatric Cancer Research and Social Equality. Giant is headquartered in Landover, Md. and operates 165 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the 165 stores are 153 full-service pharmacies and 27 Starbucks locations. Giant fits all the ways today's busy customers want to shop - whether in store or online. With 162 Giant Pickup locations and delivery options available in all of its markets, customers have even more convenient options right at their fingertips to get the best products and prices, whenever and however they choose. For more information on Giant Food, visit giantfood.com.

About The Human Rights Campaign Foundation
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public's understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.

SOURCE Giant Food