'Citigroup is an industry leader, and we are honored and thrilled that it is committed to furthering the mission of securing GLBT equal rights,' said Cathy Nelson, HRC vice president of development and membership.

WASHINGTON - The Human Rights Campaign announced today that Citigroup, the world's largest financial institution, has become a platinum level sponsor of HRC's mission of securing equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. With a perfect score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index, Citigroup's support for HRC cements the company's role as one of the top business leaders supporting GLBT equality.

&quotCitigroup is an industry leader, and we are honored and thrilled that it is committed to furthering the mission of securing GLBT equal rights,&quot said Cathy Nelson, HRC vice president of development and membership. &quotWhen leaders like Citigroup voice their support for equality and fairness for all American families, it helps to change hearts and minds across the board.&quot

&quotMost leaders in corporate America realize that equality and inclusiveness aren't just the right thing to do, they're also very good for the bottom line,&quot said Ana Duarte-McCarthy, director, global workforce diversity, Citigroup. &quotDiversity is a key component of our overall business strategy and is critical to meet our objective to be the employer of choice, service provider of choice, business partner of choice and neighbor of choice globally.&quot

Citigroup offers spousal equivalency benefits to employees' same-sex partners and has enacted non-discrimination policies that are inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. In addition, Citigroup has sponsored multi-company forums in New York on the importance of employee benefits for same-sex partners. Citigroup also sponsors Pride employee networks, which any employee interested in GLBT issues may join.

&quotWe want to let our community know that Citigroup has established itself as an incredible ally, and we hope that all fair-minded Americans will give their patronage to Citigroup and other organizations who believe in equal rights,&quot said Nelson.

For more on Citigroup's record on GLBT issues, please see the 2004 HRC Corporate Equality Index.

Citigroup joins 15 other HRC national sponsors, including additional platinum level sponsors Volvo and IBM Corporation.

Along with the national sponsorship, Citigroup will be recognized as a lead sponsor at HRC black-tie dinners around the country. At the dinners, Citigroup will receive advertisements in the program book and be recognized verbally or in a video presentation. Numerous other benefits are included to help position Citigroup as a partner across the country in the GLBT community.