Baker Donelson has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's (HRCF) 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Baker Donelson joins the 765 U.S. businesses that will be honored with HRCF's Equality 100 Award as Leaders in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion. This year's CEI includes 1,449 businesses – the highest number of rated companies since the start of the CEI in 2002.
Noah Kressler, chair of Baker Donelson's LGBTQ resource group BakerPride and a Corporate shareholder in the New Orleans office, said, "We're extremely proud to have earned a 100 rating in the HRCF's assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality. To achieve our goal of being trusted advisors to our clients, it is critical we recruit and retain the very best talent. Providing an environment where our LGBTQ+ employees are treated equitably allows us to continue to deliver exceptional results for our clients."
"Our goal is for Baker Donelson to be a model of equality for all employees, and earning the HRCF's Equality 100 Award is recognition of our commitment to policies that ensure an inclusive and welcoming environment for LGBTQ attorneys and staff," added Timothy M. Lupinacci, the Firm's chair and CEO.
"The CEI is so much more than a score on paper. For decades businesses have relied on the CEI as a tool for transparency and leveling the playing field for all workers, making sure LGBTQ+ people and their families can share in fair, respectful, and supportive workplaces and benefits," said RaShawn "Shawnie" Hawkins, SHRM-CP, HRCF Senior Director of the Workplace Equality Program. "As conversations evolve on corporate America's approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that largely recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion. Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking. The work of the CEI is to help businesses to expand their consumer base and attract top, innovative talent by supporting the LGBTQ+ community."
The results of the 2025 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 surveys 1,449 participants, further demonstrating the tremendous growth of the CEI. A record-breaking 98 percent of CEI businesses have nondiscrimination protections specific to gender identity.
The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to more than 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:
- nondiscrimination policies across business entities;
- equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
- supporting an inclusive culture; and,
- corporate social responsibility.
Baker Donelson strives to create an inclusive environment for all employees, welcoming people of all races, genders, gender identities or expressions, ages, languages, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, disabilities, sexual orientations, and religious beliefs to assist clients in achieving their legal goals.
About HRCF
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public's understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system, and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase its impact and shape the future of work.