NATIONAL GRID EARNS TOP RATING AS BEST PLACE TO WORK FOR LGBT AND ALLY COMMUNITIES

Company receives a top rating of 100% from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation

WALTHAM, Mass. – Last week the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation released the results of its annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for 2017, where National Grid was one of 11 energy companies, and about 500 companies across the US, to receive the top rating of 100%. This ranking categorizes National Grid as one of HRC’s ‘Best Places to Work for LGBT equality.’

“This distinction is a great tribute to National Grid’s continued commitment to our LGBT community,” said Dean Seavers, president of National Grid US. “It brings me great pride to see our longstanding policies on diversity and inclusion advance to the next level.”

Each year, HRC ranks companies across the US based on how they treat their LGBT employees and local communities. Categories include:

• Prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression
• Offering equivalent spousal and partner medical benefits, and transgender-inclusive health insurance coverage; and
• Providing an employer-sponsored employee resource group for LGBT employees

HR Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Keith Hutchison says the roll-out of our new transgender benefits, and gender transition in the workplace guidelines helped National Grid earn a perfect score on the 2017 CEI.

“It’s a testament to the efforts of our HR employees – with passionate support and guidance from our PRIDE USA employee resource group (ERG) – who worked hard to bring about these new benefits. And it’s a great source of pride for me, and all of us, to be recognized nationally as a leader in having inclusive corporate policies and practices applicable to our LGBT employees.”

“Our commitment toward solid policies and benefits is as strong as ever to ensure that our LGBT community can thrive throughout our company,” said John Bruckner, SVP of operations and PRIDE ERG executive sponsor. “The PRIDE group continues to engage employees across the company in everything from a safety pin campaign against discrimination, to serving as a strong advocate for the LGBT communities we serve.”

You can read more on the Human Rights Campaign and the Corporate Equality Index here.