Highlights
- Herman Miller earns ninth consecutive perfect score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index
- Global furniture manufacturer among select companies to be named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBT equality”
- CEO Brian Walker states the company’s inclusive culture builds a stronger, more innovative company
Herman Miller, Inc. is one of a select group of U.S. businesses to receive a perfect score on the 2016 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality. The global furniture manufacturer is one of just 407 companies nationwide to receive a 100 percent rating and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBT equality. This marks Herman Miller’s ninth consecutive year achieving a perfect score on the index.
“We’re honored to be among the growing number of companies who embrace diversity in gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation,” said Brian Walker, Herman Miller’s Chief Executive Officer. “By cultivating an inclusive mix of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, we’re able to advance our innovative culture and create a stronger, more competitive company.”
Herman Miller is a Gold Founding Partner of the West Michigan LGBT Chamber of Commerce and assisted in the formation of the regional chapter. Additionally, Walker serves as co-chair of The Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition, a partnership of business leaders representing companies, associations, and chambers of commerce who support the goal of updating Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Herman Miller has a longstanding commitment to leadership in the drive for equality, and engaging our employees in grassroots efforts is integral to creating a work environment where everyone feels included and valued,” said Abe Carrillo, Director of Inclusiveness and Diversity at Herman Miller. “Launched in 2007, our LGBT Inclusiveness Resource Team (IRT) is one of 12 global IRTs that develops and implements initiatives to benefit our employees and help us meet our business objectives.”
Measuring against new and even higher standards this year, the 2016 CEI rated 1,027 American workplaces on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. The report evaluates LGBT-related policies and practices including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBT community.
The 2016 Corporate Equality Index is available at www.hrc.org/cei. For more information on Herman Miller’s inclusiveness and diversity efforts, visit here.
About Herman Miller, Inc.
Herman Miller is a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the global company has relied on innovative design for over 100 years to solve problems for people wherever they work, live, learn, and heal. Herman Miller’s designs are part of museum collections worldwide, and the company is a past recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Known and respected for its leadership in corporate social responsibility, Herman Miller has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past 12 years, and has earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s top rating in its Corporate Equality Index for the past nine years. In fiscal 2014-15, the company generated $2.14 billion in revenue and employed over 7,000 people worldwide. Herman Miller trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.
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