Wawa, Rite Aid Among Lowest-Scoring PA Companies On HRC Corporate Equality Index (UPDATED)

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The Human Rights Campaign just released results from its annual Corporate Equality Index, which assesses LGBT inclusion in major U.S. corporations based on five categories: non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBT diversity and inclusion, public commitment to LGBT equality, and responsible citizenship.

There’s a lot to be excited about here. The report shows that out of 781 companies, a record 366 across the nation earned a perfect score of 100 percent. Some other things to get excited about:

• 89 percent of participants now cover gender identity in their non-discrimination policies, up from 86 percent last year.
• 66 percent of all Fortune 500 companies have gender identity protections, up from 61 percent last year.
• 190 Fortune 500 companies were given unofficial scores based on publicly available information.

There were 32 companies ranked in Pennsylvania in total, and out of those the average score was a not-so-hot 84 percent. Eleven Pennsylvania companies earned a perfect score, including The Hershey Company, American Eagle Outfitters and Comcast. Eleven earned 90 percent or above, and one (Bayer Corporation) earned an 80 percent or above.

The lowest ranking company in Pennsylvania is Allegheny Energy Inc., which earned a horrible 15 percent. Another standout in the bottom half of the list is our area’s beloved Wawa. It earned 65 percent.

While up from last year’s dismal 30 ranking, Wawa continues to be docked for its lack of transgender protections. The report shows that it doesn’t offer benefits for transgender people, there is no gender identity diversity training or transition guidelines, and there are no written guidelines or procedures concerning employees who transition on the job.

Another place that you may frequent that pulled in a low ranking is Rite Aid, which clocked in at an even lower 60 percent for its lack of sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination policies in its employee handbooks, among other things.

I’ve reached out to Rite Aid and Wawa for comment, but neither have returned my calls or emails. Stay tuned for any updates.

UPDATE [11/19/2014, 11:45 a.m.]: A representative from Wawa, Lori Bruce, contacted me with a statement from Wawa regarding its score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index. It reads as follows:

It’s critical to all of us at Wawa that every associate who is a part of our company feels valued and comfortable regardless of race, ethnicity, political or sexual orientation.  We have created and continue to grow our Diversity Council as well as a network of company-supported employee resource groups, to ensure that we are recognizing and meeting the current and evolving needs of all of our associates.  That network includes our LGBTQ group, the Wawa Rainbow Alliance, who works closely with the organization to identify the needs of our associates and who has been active in recent community events, including Orlando Pride last month.

Regarding the most recent ratings surrounding transgender policies, we are currently in the process of researching transgender health benefits and are considering changes to our policy within the upcoming year. At Wawa we believe the best decisions are fully informed ones, so we are making sure we are as knowledgeable as possible so that these kinds of benefits are meaningful and impactful.

See the complete list of Pennsylvania business rankings below. You can read more about the report, and do a company-specific search here and here.