Atlanta (November 2023) – Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP has earned a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and received the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace InclusionTM. The CEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. This is the sixth year in a row the firm has earned top marks. It joins 545 major U.S. businesses – a new record – that also scored 100.
“A true commitment to diversity requires a long-term approach that involves much more than hiring,” said MMM Managing Partner Simon Malko. “We appreciate the roadmap that the CEI gives us because it helps us measure our progress, and also because diversity is good business that supports our people and our clients.”
“Thanks to everyone at the firm who assisted with this process over the last year and made this achievement possible,” added Douglas Selph, Partner Sponsor for MMMPower, the Firm’s affinity group supporting LGBTQ attorneys, staff members and allies. MMMPower is part of MMMPact, the firm’s corporate social responsibility outreach. “Although this is not our first time to achieve a score of 100, the requirements were significantly revised this time and were considerably more challenging,” added Selph, who also co-chairs the firm’s LGBTQ Business Practice.
The HRC noted that the CEI, which is always evolving, sets a blueprint companies can use to support LGBTQ+ employees and their families more effectively.
“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,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, the Human Rights Campaign’s Senior Director of Workplace Equality. “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.”
In its first year, the CEI included 319 participants; the 2023-2024 CEI includes 1,384 businesses. Plus, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002. The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly-traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (the AmLaw 200, which includes MMM) and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:
- Non-discrimination policies across business entities
- Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families
- Supporting an inclusive culture and
- Corporate social responsibility
The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP (www.mmmlaw.com) is an Am Law 200 law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, corporate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, capital markets, environmental, international trade, and insurance practices. A Mansfield 6.0-certified firm, MMM has offices in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C.
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 our impact and shape the future of our work.
Media Contact for MMM: Terri Thornton, (404) 932-4347, Terri@TerriThornton.com
