Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Earns Top Marks in 2021 Corporate Equality Index

Perfect score from Human Rights Campaign Foundation highlights organization's commitment to LGBTQ+ equality

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Jan 28, 2021, 12:00 ET

EAGAN, Minn., Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) is proud to announce that the organization has received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for 2021. Launched in 2002, the CEI has become the nation's premier benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ equality in the workplace. Blue Cross joins the ranks of a record-breaking 767 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

"By making diversity, equity and inclusion a top priority in advancing our workplace culture, we are highlighting Blue Cross as a place where everyone can bring their true, authentic selves to their roles and make our company a better place to work," says Dr. Craig Samitt, president and CEO at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. "We're proud to have received another perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index for 2021. Our commitment to our LGBTQ+ associates and members is paramount as we continue to strive for true racial and health equity across all communities."

"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," says Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "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."

The results of this year's CEI showcase how 1,142 U.S.-based companies are not only promoting LGBTQ-friendly workplace policies in the U.S., but also for the 57% of CEI-rated companies with global operations who are helping advance the cause of LGBTQ+ inclusion in workplaces abroad. Blue Cross' efforts in satisfying all the CEI's criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

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.

For more information on the 2021 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, visit www.hrc.org/cei.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.9 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago.

About the Human Right Campaign Corporate Equality Index
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.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota