New Data Analysis Shows LGBTQ+ Inclusion Linked to Long-Term Business Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today’s release of a new analysis of nearly two decades of corporate data reveals that large companies with stronger LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices delivered increasingly strong financial results the longer they had these policies in place. These findings by Whistle Stop Capital and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation debunk recent political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as harmful to businesses or employees. The data, which analyzes a company's scores in HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI),and financial success indicators, such as market value and revenue growth over time, indicated that workplace inclusion isn't just a set of values – it’s an additive long-term business strategy. The news comes on the heels of a proxy season in which shareholders from dozens of the nation’s largest companies overwhelmingly voted down anti-DEI proposals, including some that explicitly named the CEI. 

The CEI, published annually by the HRC Foundation, is the nation’s leading benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. The study draws on 15 years of CEI data, examining the relationship between LGBTQ+ inclusion and key financial metrics including revenue growth, net income, gross profit, and stock price volatility. Findings show that the relationship between inclusion and performance has strengthened over time:

• Companies with higher CEI scores saw stronger revenue growth. Companies with high CEI scores saw greater cumulative revenue growth than that of low-scoring companies over a 15-year period.
• Over a 10-year period, top-scoring companies reported average net income more than eight times higher than their lowest-scoring peers.
• Higher CEI scores were also linked to greater gross profit and more stable share price performance, suggesting more consistent, long-term investor confidence.
• Transparency is paramount: being clear and public in communicating about inclusive policies and CEI participation helps companies signal accountability to key stakeholders, and the data shows that kind of transparency is associated with better business performance.
  • Given confusing headlines around rollbacks on diversity and inclusion, only 50% of workers say their company’s policies regarding protections for gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation have remained the same since the beginning of the current administration (Monster, May 2025). 
  • 93.5% of LGBTQ+ adults state that a company scoring 100% on the HRC Foundation’s CEI indicates some level of support for the LGBTQ+ community (HRC Foundation, 2024). 

The data is released at a time of growing resistance to the attacks on workplace inclusion from consumers, shareholders, and business leaders. As recent customer boycotts demonstrate, companies that backtrack on workplace inclusion efforts face the risk of bottom-line consequences: loss of consumer trust, downturns in sales, and significant reputational harm. At a time when one in five Gen Z adults, the fastest growing demographic in the workplace, identify as LGBTQ+, this data provides essential information to make positive long-term decisions. 

Over the past several months, shareholders at many Fortune 500 companies rejected anti-DEI proposals 99-1, and executives from Marriott to Costco to MasterCard and JPMorgan Chase have spoken out in favor of inclusion initiatives at their companies. The consumer market is turning away from businesses that fail to demonstrate authentic, consistent support for LGBTQ+ rights and workplace inclusion.