United Airlines Earns 100% Score on Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Annual Scorecard on LGBTQ+ Workplace Equality

United's track record as industry-leader for LGBTQ+ inclusive initiatives continues

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Jan 27, 2020, 12:15 ET

CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced it has received a perfect score of 100% on the 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. This is the ninth consecutive year the airline receives a 100% score.

United Airlines at Pride Live's Stonewall Day, a celebration for the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots

"United is proud to receive this recognition as it speaks to our commitment to not only promoting an LGBTQ+-friendly workplace but LGBTQ+-friendly skies," said Kate Gebo, United's Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations. "We will continue working with organizations like the Human Rights Campaign to help champion LGBTQ+ inclusion because United believes in breaking down barriers to create a more welcoming world for all who explore it."

"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."

United's commitment to LGBTQ+ equality includes being the first U.S. airline to fully recognize domestic partnerships in 1999 to becoming the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all of its booking channels in 2019. Additionally, during its Pride Month celebration in 2019, United became the first public company to be inducted into Pride Live's Stonewall Ambassador program

United has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign on training initiatives including educating employees about preferred pronouns and the persistence of gender norms and other steps to make United an inclusive space for both customers and employees. The airline's latest efforts include developing comprehensive training modules and exercises to continue employee education on how to be a better ally in both the workplace and to customers. Over the past year, United has also opened more LGBTQ+ Business Resource Groups across the country, reaching more employees.

Alongside partner organizations, customers and employees, United will continue working to build the world's most inclusive airline. For more information on United's commitment to diversity and inclusion, visit https://hub.united.com/diversity-inclusion-fact-sheet/.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

United continues to strengthen its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently:

Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire
Committed $40 million toward a new investment initiative focused on accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuels and other decarbonization technologies
Established Miles on a Mission, a first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing platform which gives customers a simple way to donate miles to non-profit organizations and charities in need of air travel
Launched ConnectionSaver, a digital tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers with connecting flights
Instituted PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus Premier members
Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on domestic flights
Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200 aircraft

About United

United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United and United Express operate approximately 4,900 flights a day to 362 airports across six continents. In 2019, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 791 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express partners operate 581 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 195 countries via 26 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

SOURCE United Airlines