DLA Piper earns 14th consecutive perfect score on Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index
DLA Piper is pleased to announce that for the 14th consecutive year the firm has earned a perfect score from the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national survey and report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. With a top rating of 100 percent, awarded to employers with comprehensive policies, benefits and practices that ensure greater equity for LGBTQ+ workers and their families, DLA Piper was recognized as a "Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality" in the 2022 report.
More than 1,200 companies were featured in the report, which evaluates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars: non-discrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and corporate social responsibility.
DLA Piper recently announced several enhancements to the infertility benefits included in its employee medical plans, including changing its definition of “infertility” to be more inclusive, which will allow for same-sex female partners, as well as single females, to use infertility benefits.
“As a member of the LGBTQ community, I am incredibly proud of our firm’s top score on the Corporate Equality Index for the 14th year in a row. This is a meaningful recognition of our commitment to creating a culture that fosters inclusivity and respects all LGBTQ individuals,” said Natalie Vujko, DLA Piper’s director of diversity and inclusion. “Our enhanced infertility benefits prioritize LGBTQ individuals and families and ensure that they are able to thrive in a supportive and inclusive workplace, which means that we are better able to deliver top-quality service to our clients.”
As part of DLA Piper's Diversity and Inclusion initiative, the firm’s global LGBTQ Resource Group, formally named Iris, serves as a forum and advisory body on matters important to the LGBTQ community and provides opportunities for engagement in a variety of initiatives. Additionally, the firm annually celebrates LGBT Pride Month in the US with hundreds of lawyers and staff, including straight allies, participating in nationally video-conferenced workshops designed to raise awareness of LGBTQ-related issues.
DLA Piper has also committed to following the Mansfield Rule, designed and continuously refined through Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. The Mansfield Rule was inspired by the NFL's Rooney Rule, named for former Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, which requires every NFL team to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies.
Last year, the firm achieved Mansfield 4.0 Certified Plus status, indicating that, in addition to considering candidate pools made up of at least 30 percent diverse lawyers, the firm also achieved actual representation of at least 30 percent women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities in key leadership roles, partner promotions and lateral hires. DLA Piper has participated in every iteration of the initiative, beginning with the inaugural version that launched in mid-2017, and has already committed to participate in the next round of certification, Mansfield 5.0.
