Companies who truly foster an inclusive workplace for LGBTQIA+ professionals do so all year round, not just during Pride Month. Built In wanted to showcase the ways that LGBTQIA+ talent have found support in the tech industry. That’s why we launched the LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Awards, our newest awards program, to celebrate companies that put inclusive values into practice by creating LGBTQIA+-friendly workplaces.
In May, we put out a call for nominations for United States-based companies that excel at providing tangible support for their LGBTQIA+ employees. We received nearly 100 nominations, and our expert panel of judges reviewed each and every nomination according to a detailed list of criteria. They considered everything from LGBTQIA+ representation in the workplace to benefits and initiatives tailored to LGBTQIA+ employees, such as domestic partner benefits and pronoun usage. Hiring, retention and engagement tactics were also put under the microscope to gauge how committed companies are to finding, welcoming and uplifting LGBTQIA+ talent.
The judges selected 25 winners who go beyond the basics in their support for LGBTQIA+ employees. Though each company is unique, the winners all have one thing in common: They create a welcoming, supportive space that gives employees the freedom and security to be their authentic selves.
We’re thrilled to introduce you to the LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Award winners: 25 companies that are leading the way in inclusive practices.
LGBTQIA+ Founded/Led
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2019
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Partnership with Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
- A NYC Pride Corporate Volunteer Partner
- Gender-affirming language glossary
- Employee diversity tracking
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Committed to continuing to provide employees with a safe space to express their identities
- Aiming to maintain its diversity statistics with a majority of its employees as queer-identifying
- Seeking to work alongside more LGBTQIA+-allied investors
- Will continue to only work with partners and clients supporting the LGBTQIA+ community
LGBTQIA+ Founded/Led
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2013
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Workforce training programs for LGBTQIA+ employees
- Yearly stipend to donate to a nonprofit or cause of the employees' choosing
- Parental leave for all families
- Host and attend LGBTQIA+ events during and outside of Pride Month
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Continue amplifying and protecting overlooked and underestimated communities
- Be an example for driving diversity into the technology industry
- Listening and enacting anything required to support LGBTQIA+ employees
- Doing good and always striving to do better
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2016
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Carrot 4 Carrot, a benefit for fertility and family forming needs
- Access to gender-affirming services through health plan coverage
- Equitable parental leave policy
- Employee Community Group (EGC) called 'Rainbow Carrots'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Continuously provide groundbreaking care helping those wanting fertility care and family forming needs
- Ongoing LGBTQIA+ learning and development ensuring a safe, supportive and positive workplace for all employees
- Training all employees on LGBTQIA+ fertility and family forming options through Carrot University (Carrot U)
- Carrot Inclusion Council meets monthly to discuss DEI initiatives, priorities and feedback to help shape company DEI roadmap
LGBTQIA+ Founded/Led
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2020
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Gender-based violence paid and protection leave
- Unlimited menstrual leave for people with uteruses
- Base salary of $80k for all employees
- Personal and professional growth stipend
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Giving 5% of all app profits directly to Black, Latinx, Native/Indigenous, Queer and/or Trans survivors of gender-based violence via FreeForm.org
- Protecting and continuing established culture
- Inviting all who may have experienced systemic oppression and/or gender-based violence to apply
- Promoting astrology as a tool for radical self-acceptance in alignment with the belief that in healing ourselves, we can more quickly serve the world
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Inclusive health benefits with Maven family planning and Modern Health coaching and therapy
- Private round table discussion and support circles with licensed therapist
- Parental leave for all families
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'OutChime'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Re-evaluating benefits on an annual basis to make sure they are inclusive
- Partnering with external organizations to drive inclusive hiring
- Company-wide demographic surveys and evaluations
- Allyship training for company and all employees
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2021
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Parental leave for all families
- Rainbow connection Employee Resource Group (ERG)
- Preferred pronoun usage from applications to everyday in the workplace
- Honoring all employees for their whole being and their whole intersectionality of experience
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Continuously auditing company practices and policies to maximize support for the LGBTQIA+ community
- Host educational storytelling event to highlight LGBTQIA+ experiences
- Building LGBTQIA+ advocacy into everything connectRN does
- Committed to creating equal opportunity for all, maintaining safety for all and creating equitable practices for all
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2013
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Global adoption and surrogacy policy
- Fertility benefits through Progyny
- Gender dysphoria coverage
- Travel benefit for LGBTQIA+ specific healthcare needs
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- DEI team listening sessions for Dropbox's trans/non-binary community
- Continued investments in Pridebox, our employee resource group for LGBTQIA+ employees
- Community partnerships, both within and outside the Dropbox Foundation, to better support broader inclusivity for the LGBTQIA+ community
- Connecting employees with organizations that are actively working to support the LGBTQIA+ community
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Medical plan includes transgender and gender dysphoria related coverage
- Health insurance coverage for all domestic partnerships
- Chicago office has an ADA-compliant and gender neutral restroom for all employees
- Affinity group called 'Pride @ Enova'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Utilizing the 2023 Corporate Equality Index as a benchmarking tool
- Listening to employees and acting on their feedback
- Monthly surveys that ask employees to provide honest feedback in order to be their authentic selves in the workplace
- Expanded demographic options during the application process allowing applicants to select their gender identity from a wider selection of options
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2011
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Adoption assistance and parental leave
- Health insurance coverage for all domestic partnerships
- Training programs cultivating inclusive culture and an equitable environment
- Dedicated LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group (ERG)
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Adoption of the Progress Flag as a symbol of proactive inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community
- Employees can voluntarily self-identify their gender identity and/or sexual orientation to help strengthen and focus diversity and inclusion efforts
- LGBTQIA+ ERG provides affinity space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, in addition to advising and advocating on policies internal to the company fostering a more inclusive workplace
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Workforce protection to protect gender identity and sexual orientation for LGBTQIA+ employees
- Impact Days allowing employees to take PTO to support organizations that matter to them
- Employee Resource Group called 'Circle of Pride'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Supporting and participating in LGBTQIA+ career events and organizations promoting awareness around Pride Month, Transgender Awareness Week and National Coming Out Day
- Commitment to education and understanding drives a continuous review of benefits
- Ensuring platform is unbiased and a leading funding source for underserved communities, including the LGBTQIA+ community
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Parental leave for all families
- Works with a dedicated DEI partner
- Employee assistance program
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'G2 LGBTQ+ & Allies'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- A place for advocacy inside and outside the workplace
- Partnering with 11 pillar organizations each year, for example, OutRight Action International and Brave Space Alliance
- Corporate member of Out in Tech to improve company's LGBTQIA+ employee representation, identify mentoring and speaking opportunities that can benefit LGBTQIA+ 'techies' seeking professional development
- Continually investing in DEI efforts for employee recruitment, retention and ERG support
LGBTQIA+ Founded/Led
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2020
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Partnership with Included Health, a medical concierge service that works with employees to locate LGBTQIA+ focused medical services
- Partnership with FOLX, which facilitates the deliver of hormone therapies for transgender employees
- Gender affirmation Fund
- Social corporate responsibility program called 'Grindr for Equality' (G4E)
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Continue adding LGBTQIA+ users everyday and rolling out features that enhance the queer experience
- Building the trust and safety of the app so that users can engage with each other knowing their security is top-of-mind
- Remaining a space for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity
- Build out policies and practices that support employees and users regardless of gender identity
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Gender-affirming healthcare services covered by all offered insurance plans
- Fertility and family planning benefits
- Unlimited access to legal resources and attorney support helping LGBTQIA+ employees formalize gender and name changes, review or create adoption or surrogacy paperwork and more
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'Gender & Sexuality Diversity ERG'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Dedicated internal efforts and contributing to the Gender & Sexuality Diversity ERG
- Leverage updated and inclusive demographic questions to understand representation within its employee population
- Analyze trends and ensure equity across compensation, internal mobility, engagement and more
- Ensuring all talent efforts begin with diverse recruitment and hiring practices at all levels of the organization
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2011
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Transgender health benefits
- Parental leave for all families
- Dedicated team at health insurance provide to answer questions from transgender and non-binary employees
- Code of Business Conduct, protecting sexual orientation and gender identity
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Unconscious bias training
- Diverse interview panels
- Matching charitable contributions
- Increase LGBTQIA+ representation in leadership positions
LGBTQIA+ Founded/Led
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2014
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Parental leave for all families
- Maven for Mavens, an end-to-end health and family building support, including tracks for adoption, surrogacy and IVF
- Health plans provide coverage for gender-affirming surgery and care
- Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) called 'Pride at Maven' and 'Lesbians of Maven'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Creating a more equitable, culturally sensitive and inclusive world of healthcare
- Listening, learning and taking action in all planning
- Elevate the voices and work of LGBTQIA+ employees internally and externally
- Exploring new ways to become better allies, advocates and enablers for a more inclusive workplace
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 1999
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace policy
- Medical plan inclusive of transgender procedures and services
- Adoption/surrogacy reimbursement program
- Sponsor of several organizations, like Out & Equal, PFLAG, We Create Space, and myGwork, AIDS Walk NY, NJ AIDS WALK and Philadelphia AIDS Walk
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Commitment to equality goes beyond the month of June
- Longstanding tradition and continuous support of the LGBTQIA+ community, within the company and beyond
- Practicing an open, diverse and inclusive culture within the company
- Looking outside the organization to share best practices with other companies, listen for new ideas, debate points of view and create environmental, cultural and business change
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2014
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Access to Calm app and Modern Health
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'RainbowRoll'
- Roller Recharge Days
- Roll Together Fair allows all ERGs, including RainbowRoll, to share community outreach programs and donation drives
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Guest speakers and discussion circles during and outside of Pride Month
- DEI lead training focused on educating and equipping teams to foster inclusion for LGBTQIA+ Rollers
- External DEI report on Culture webpage discussing NextRoll's journey (2014-now)
- DEI team focused on accountability, progress and optimism
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2020
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Family-forming services through Carrot Fertility
- Covers the cost of gender-affirming procedures
- Connect with therapists and coaches via Spring Health partnership
- Employee affinity group called 'Queers & Allies'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Support LGBTQIA+ owned businesses during the pandemic and in the future
- Hosting events to celebrate queer employees
- Speaker series to educate company about the queer experience working in tech
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Wellness stipend to spend on anything that improves wellbeing, mindfulness, etc., including meditation application fees, fitness classes, and more
- Employer Resource Group (ERG) called 'bProud' with the mission "Be You with Be Proud"
- Corporate partnership with GSBA, a LGBTQIA+ business chamber
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Campus recruiting efforts with a LGBTQIA+ focus
- Release Gender Transition Guidelines, updated LGBTQIA+ affirming language for philanthropic giving and supplier engagement
- Actively looking to expand healthcare benefits
- Continue LGBTQIA+ education within Point B
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Domestic partner coverage
- Gender dysphoria coverage (in a majority of locations)
- Parental leave for all families
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'Qualtrics Pride'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Provide free software license to Encircle, an LGBTQIA+ youth organization in Utah
- Sponsor and support Lesbians Who Tech
- Improving benefits to be as inclusive as possible for LGBTQIA+ employees
- Partnering with more local organizations like Equality Utah
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2020
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Offers TaskHuman, Headspace and Carrot Fertility
- Coverage options for gender dysphoria services
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'Rainbow Room'
- Listening and healing rooms at RingCentral
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Partnership with Out 4 Undergrad (O4U) and Circa
- FLIGHT Crew, a values-based conversational group interview that encourages diverse interview panels
- Actively listening to employees - concerns, opinions, spearheading activities and initiatives that are important to employees
- Creating a space for authenticity and understanding
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2018
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Health insurance covers gender affirming care, transition surgeries, mental health, and HIV-1 PrEP
- Matches nonprofit donations dollar-for-dollar to the causes employees are passionate about
- Community Time Off for volunteering and is paid time off
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'Spreetail Pride Alliance (SPA)'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Donations to The Trevor Project and CenterLink
- Utilize company social channels to highlight SPA initiatives and leadership
- Develop Spreetail's Inclusion Ecosystem to identify how the company understands progress through action
- Monitor progress, stay accountable, make decisions on what is and isn't working and continuously drive towards measurable change
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2016
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Continuously expanding gender affirming benefits
- Inclusive fertility and family-forming benefits, covering all paths to parenthood
- Mental health benefits with Lyra
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'Multigrain'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Partnership with Out & Equal
- Unconscious bias training
- Promote employee listening tools like AllVoices and Culture Amp
- Provide learning and discussion opportunities for all employees, including inclusive interview training and sessions with external speakers
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2000
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Transgender health benefits - mental health, hormonal therapies and surgical treatments
- Paid volunteer time off
- Employee Resource Group (ERG) called 'ZipQueers'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Discussion panels led by transgender employees - educational lunch and learns
- Create meaningful change inside and outside Zipcar's walls
- Continue supporting and funding ZipQueer's efforts, hosting various events, educational opportunities and supporting advocacy groups
- Drive inclusion and diversity for the LGBTQIA+ community
Year LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Began: 2017
LGBTQIA+ Specific Perks and Benefits:
- Inclusion and Diversity Groups (IDGs), one called 'Pride@ZS'
- Training coverage - Bias in Hiring, Inclusive Leadership, Recognizing Micro-Agressions and Unconscious Bias
- Team within HR called 'DEI Center of Expertise'
Future LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Plans:
- Partnered with an external DEI advisory firm to audit application and hiring process
- Enhance DEI progress through leadership accountability, awareness, education, impact and external contributions
- Have a more diversified team that reflects the world we live in
- Maintain a culture where every ZSer continues to receive fair treatment based on their respective needs, experiences a deep sense of belonging, feels heard, is respected and enabled to thrive
