A Global Examination of LGBT Workplace Equality Indices

This chapter offers one of the first cross-national analyses of various LGBT workplace equality indices. Although there has been an increased interest in LGBT issues in corporations (e.g., Anteby & Anderson, 2014; Pichler & Ruggs, 2018), there seems to be a lack of research that systematically compares existing LGBT indices across countries. Tayar’s (2017) article may be the current exemption as he critically applies institutional theory to uncover broadly applicable issues when ranking LGBT inclusion via such indices. Despite this, there is still no focused comparison of indices across differing national contexts. Therefore, interested parties are potentially missing out on key patterns, trends, emerging best practices, and common challenges for organizations that undertake this work. As domestic corporations and multinational corporations (MNCs) become more engaged on the rights and inclusion of LGBT people (Anteby & Anderson, 2014; Pichler & Ruggs, 2018), these indices are empowering increasing numbers of corporations to act and thus are important tools worthy of examination. This chapter seeks to do just that, by first providing an overview and in-depth analysis of each index, to then compare and contrast each benchmarking tool in an attempt to understand patterns – specifically strengths, weaknesses, and common challenges. Given the differences between countries on LGBT issues, as well as the rapid change of pace on these complex issues, such a comparison is timely and important.