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Kutak Rock Earns HRC Equality 100 Award for LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion

News - Inclusive Engagement | January 7, 2025

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has awarded Kutak Rock LLP its highest score of 100 on its 2024-2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the ninth year in a row. The HRC CEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices impacting LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Earning a score of 100 distinguishes Kutak Rock as a recipient of the “Equality 100 Award: Leaders in LGBTQ+ Inclusion” (formerly referred to as “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality”). 

“During this year as Affinity Group co-chair, I’ve had the opportunity to see that the firm’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community goes well beyond words and is exemplified every day in the firm’s actions to support LGBTQIA+ members and their families,” said Ed Fox, partner, and co-chair of the firm’s LGBTQIA + Allies Affinity Group. Records specialist Grace Rempp, who also co-chairs the affinity group, agrees. “It’s one thing to know the firm offers equitable benefits. It’s another to see the support in action. Both Ed and I are excited that Kutak Rock continues to lead industry efforts toward equality and equity.” 

Since opening in 1965, Kutak Rock’s culture has embraced diversity and equality in the legal profession. Kutak Rock has reinforced its decades-long commitment to LGBTQ+ rights through its inclusive Equal Employment Opportunity policy, the extension of equal benefits to all employees, and the work of the firm’s LGBTQIA + Allies Affinity Group to provide networking, engagement and educational opportunities. The firm first began offering insurance benefits to same-sex partners over 20 years ago and has offered benefits to transgender employees and beneficiaries for nearly a decade. 

About the CEI. The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2025 CEI now includes 1,449 participants. A record-breaking 98 percent of CEI businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity. 

The CEI rates employers providing protections to over 22 million U.S. workers and includes Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.  

The CEI rates 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
  • Corporate social responsibility

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.