LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- For the fifth consecutive year, Air Products (NYSE:APD) has
earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's
2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's foremost
benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and
practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.
The results of the 2021 CEI showcase released today show how
U.S.-based companies are not only promoting LGBTQ-friendly
workplace policies in the U.S., but the 57% of CEI-rated companies
with global operations are also helping advance the cause of LGBTQ
inclusion in workplaces abroad. Air Products' efforts in satisfying
all of the CEI's criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the
designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ
Equality.
"Every day we strive to build a more welcoming and inclusive
workplace. We are pleased to have again achieved a perfect score
from CEI, but know there will always be more work to be done," said
Victoria Brifo, senior vice
president and chief human resources officer at Air Products. "As a
company that operates in more than 50 countries, our employees come
from all walks of life and nationalities, creating an inclusive
environment where feeling that they belong and matter is part of
our higher purpose."
The CEI rates employers providing crucial protections to over 18
million U.S. workers and an additional 17 million abroad. Companies
rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine's 500 largest
publicly-traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine's top
200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), 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;
- Support of an inclusive culture; and,
- Corporate social responsibility.
To continue its efforts to build a more inclusive workplace, in
2020 Air Products announced a new goal to further increase the
percentage of women and U.S. minorities in professional and
managerial roles. By 2025, Air Products aims to achieve at least 28
percent female representation in the professional and managerial
population globally and at least 20 percent minority representation
in the same population in the United
States. The measures are increases from 25 and 17 percent
(2020 baseline), respectively.
Air Products plans to share progress towards these goals both
internally and externally. In its 2020 Sustainability Report, for
the first time, Air Products published 2019 metrics on the
representation of U.S. minorities and added an additional level of
metrics for women in executive roles.
Air Products' inclusion on HRC's "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ
Equality" list is the latest recognition for the Company's efforts
to continue to build the most diverse industrial gas workforce in
the world. Air Products was also included in Corporate
Responsibility Magazine's (CR Magazine) 100 Best Corporate
Citizens List for the ninth consecutive year in 2020.
Additional details on Air Products' diversity and inclusion
efforts can be found at:
https://www.airproducts.com/company/diversity
"From the previously unimaginable impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020
was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation
stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ
equality," said Alphonso David,
Human Rights Campaign President. "This year has shown us that tools
like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and
inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe
life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways.
Thank you to the companies that understand protecting their LGBTQ
employees and consumers from discrimination is not just the right
thing to do—but the best business decision."
The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of
America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve
equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people.
HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full
members of society at home, at work and in every community.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a
world-leading industrial gases company in operation for 80 years.
Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging markets, the
Company provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and
applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries,
including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing,
and food and beverage. Air Products is also the global leader in
the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and
equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds, owns and
operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects,
including: gasification projects that sustainably convert abundant
natural resources into syngas for the production of high-value
power, fuels and chemicals; carbon capture projects; and
world-scale carbon-free hydrogen projects supporting global
transportation and the energy transition.
The Company had fiscal 2020 sales of $8.9
billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current
market capitalization of over $60
billion. More than 19,000 passionate, talented and committed
employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products'
higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the
environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges
facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information,
visit www.airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter,
Facebook or Instagram.
NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2020.
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SOURCE Air Products