Kimberly-Clark today announced that it received another score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) workplace equality. Kimberly-Clark met all of the CEI’s criteria, earning the designation as a recipient of the ‘Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion’.

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for our leadership in LGBTQ+ inclusion,” said Sandi Karrmann, Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Kimberly-Clark. “As a company, we are committed to building a more inclusive global environment. It’s a central aspect of our caring culture and our purpose of Better Care for a Better World.”

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria, including non-discrimination policies across business entities, equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families, supporting an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility. Kimberly-Clark earned the top score from the CEI in 2022.

“For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr Director of Workplace Equality. “Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families.” 

This latest recognition is one of many recent workplace honors for Kimberly-Clark. This year, the company was named as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity by Newsweek and was ranked among the Best Companies for Multicultural Women by Seramount. U.S. News & World Report also listed Kimberly-Clark as one of the Best Companies to Work For, and Forbes named the company as one of the World’s Best Employers.

The full Human Rights Campaign Foundation 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) report is available here.