PROVIDENCE – Six banks that have a presence in Rhode Island were among the 765 United States businesses that received the highest score on a national rights group’s report card on corporate protections and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees.
The Human Rights Campaign said 1,449 companies nationwide participated in the Corporate Equality Index 2025 survey.
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Citizens Financial Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Santander Bank and TD Bank – the No. 1, 2, 4 and 8 banks in Rhode Island in terms of deposit market share – each scored 100 out of 100 on the survey.
JPMorgan Chase Bank and regional company Berkshire Bank, based in Boston, also achieved perfect scores.
The release of the HRC report earlier this month comes as conservative activists try to get high-profile companies to stop participating in the annual workplace report card. Earlier this month, McDonald’s became the latest big company to say it would no longer provide information for the annual evaluation of policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
Last year, Walmart, Ford, Harley-Davidson and other consumer brands that came under pressure said they would end their voluntary participation in the grading system. The HRC rated them anyway, giving Harley-Davidson a score of 10 out of 100 and Ford a 75, for example.
Among the banks with local connections that were reviewed by the HRC for the 2025 report, most seemed to downplay or not mention their high score.
Only Berkshire Bank – whose parent company Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. is merging with Bank Rhode Island’s parent Brookline Bancorp Inc. – issued a statement, saying it was honored to have earned the highest score.
“We’re grateful to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for the work it does to promote LGBTQ+ workplace equality,” said Gary Levante, chief sustainability and communications officer at Berkshire. “In addition to shining a spotlight on the importance of equity, the work also helps ensure that companies can attract top talent, drive performance and support clients of all backgrounds, including those from the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation said the 2025 equality index included 72 employers that were first-time participants, and that 765 of the 1,449 companies graded received a perfect score, 28% more than last year.
“At times, progress meets backlash, but companies continue to dedicate the time and resources to reinforcing workplace inclusion,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “As a result, they are more competitive and more creative while attracting and retaining top talent and widening their consumer base.”
The number of companies given official ratings included ones that have said they would pull out of the process. Some completed the organization’s survey months before their decisions. The HRC said it would continue to monitor companies that drop out and assign them scores.
McDonald’s was among the companies earning the top score of 100. Walmart and Lowe’s both received 90 points.
The scores are based on points that companies get for a range of workplace metrics, such as having anti-discrimination policies that encompass sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and offering health benefits that cover same-sex spouses and the needs of transgender individuals.
This is the second index that assigned points for having gender transition guidelines that managers, transitioning employees and their colleagues can consult. More than 1,000 of the companies graded for 2025 reported adopting such guidelines, a 21% increase, the HRC said.
“Obviously, there are plenty of examples of organizations that have made some kind of announcement around retreating from some aspects of how they were doing DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion], including things like participation in this survey,” said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University School of Law. “But the vast majority of companies that were doing DEI before are still doing it. The only difference is that they’re changing some programs mostly for legal risk mitigation purposes and or doing it more quietly so that they don’t attract as much attention and scrutiny.”
The Corporate Equality Index debuted in 2002 and primarily focused on ensuring that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer employees didn’t face discrimination in hiring and on the job. Over the years, the criteria to gain a perfect score grew stricter, and experts say the index helped improve workplace benefits for LGBTQ+ people.
The scores of other Rhode Island-based companies in the 2025 Corporate Equality Index included:
- CVS Health Corp., 100
- Gilbane Building Co., 100
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, 100
- International Game Technology PLC, 100
- United Natural Foods Inc., 85
- Hasbro Inc., 70
- Textron Inc., 30
The hospitals in Rhode Island that were scored included:
- Westerly Hospital, 90
- Women & Infants Hospital, 75
- Kent County Memorial Hospital, 75
With reports from The Associated Press.
