When it comes to equality, a surprising number of major Texas companies are downright liberal. That’s according to the 2005 Corporate Equality Index, the fourth annual report of the Human Rights Campaign, which grades companies on their responses to survey questions. Most of the companies in the report offer domestic partner benefits, and five Texas corporations, including Austin-based Dell Computers and Freescale Semiconductor, earned a perfect 100 for meeting several factors: the extension of health care benefits to same-sex partners, the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identification in nondiscrimination policies, diversity training, and in-house organizations for GLBT employees. Here’s a sampling of how Texas companies stacked up:
Major Texas Companies
Company / Domestic Partner Benefits / ScoreAmerican Airlines / Yes / 100
Dell Inc. / Yes / 100
Freescale Semiconductor / Yes / 100
SBC Communications / Yes / 100
Wyndham International / Yes / 100
Clear Channel Communications / Yes / 86
Continental Airlines / Yes / 86
Texas Instruments / Yes / 86
J.C. Penney Co. / Yes / 71
Southwest Airlines / Yes / 64
Vinson & Elkins / Yes / 64
ConocoPhillips / No / 64
Whole Foods / Yes / 57
Reliant Energy / No / 57
HEB Grocery / No / 43
Perot Systems Corp. / No / 14
Exxon Mobil Corp. / No / 14
Major Austin Employers
Company / Domestic Partner Benefits / ScoreIBM Corp. / Yes / 100
Motorola / Yes / 100
Home Depot / Yes / 86
Target / Yes / 86
Advanced Micro Devices / Yes / 71
Applied Materials / Yes / 71
Wal-Mart / No / 57
The full report is available at www.hrc.org.
This article appears in October 21 • 2005.