Gay workers are for the first time
protected at all 100 firms on Fortune's Best Companies To Work For
list, CNN.com
reported.
In 2008, 95 of the companies on the
financial glossy's top 100 list included non-discrimination policies
that include sexual orientation. That number had risen to 99 by
2011.
“It's been gathering strength over
the 15 years that we've done the survey,” Milton Moskowitz, a
co-author of the list, told CNN.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, communications
manager at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay
rights advocate, said he wasn't surprised by the unanimous support.
“It's not surprising to me that the
places that are ranked the best to work are also the ones that are
going to respect and value their employees,” Cole-Schwartz said.
“The evolution is clearly in the direction of equality in the
workplace.”
Roughly 86% of Fortune 500 companies
have a similar policy in place, according to data from the HRC.
Eighty-nine of the 100 companies listed
on the Best Companies To Work For list also provide benefits to the
domestic partners of gay workers.
(Related: Microsoft,
Nike endorse gay marriage in Washington.)