Wiley Earns 100% Score on Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ Workplace Equality List

January 21, 2020

Washington, DC – For the fifth consecutive year, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) has awarded Wiley a perfect score of 100% on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. In the 2020 survey, 686 major U.S. businesses earned those top marks on the prestigious list. Wiley was one of 130 law firms nationally, and 12 law firms in the Washington, DC area, that received a 100% score.

“At Wiley, diversity, equity and inclusion are embraced as central pillars of the firm,” said Managing Partner Peter D. Shields. “While we are proud of our many accomplishments, we continue to strive to build a workforce and culture that welcomes different experiences and outlooks. It is important to us and contributes to our clients’ success. We are humbled to once again make HRC’s influential list, which reflects our commitment to these core values.”

“The impact of the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index over its 18-year history is profound. In this time, the corporate community has worked with us to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive policies, practices and benefits, establishing the Corporate Equality Index as a primary driving force for LGBTQ workplace inclusion in America and across the globe,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “These companies know that protecting their LGBTQ employees and customers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do – it is also the best business decision.”

Wiley participates in numerous professional development and outreach initiatives – including hosting an annual reception in support of LGBTQ Pride Month, sponsoring the National Association for Law Placement/Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, and organizing Women in Government Contracting (WiGC) events. The firm has been named among the “Best Firms for Minority Attorneys” by Law360 for two years running and honored by Working Mother for two consecutive years as one of the “Best Law Firms for Women.”

Wiley also is involved in key training and development programs for attorneys in coordination with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), an organization of more than 300 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who have dedicated themselves to creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession.

Several groups at the firm support diversity efforts – including the LGBT & Allies Lawyers affinity group, chaired by Duane C. Pozza; the Minority Lawyers affinity group, chaired by Laura El-Sabaawi and Derick Holt; and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, chaired by Anna M. Gomez. Please click here to learn more about the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The 2020 CEI evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices including nondiscrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement. HRC is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality.

For more information on the 2020 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, please click here.