VF Corporation announces its annual rating on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality

DENVER – January 3, 2024 VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), a leading portfolio of lifestyle brands, received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. This is VF’s seventh consecutive year receiving this score and this year joins the ranks of 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

“At VF, we envision an organization where everyone can be celebrated for their uniqueness and feel like they belong. We are committed to ensuring all associates, including our LGBTQ+ associates and allies, feel VF is an inclusive environment that supports authenticity and individuality,” said Lauren Guthrie, Vice President, Global Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Action (IDEA) & Talent Development. “We are honored to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to our LGBTQ+ associates and be among these leading businesses.”

At VF, we hold these values front and center and our brands additionally help bring them to life. For example, through The North Face® Explore Fund, organizations — including OutdoorLads, Arcigay, Gay Outdoor Club, Le Gloss, Queer Nature, Brave Trails and YouthSeen — received grants to support their work in creating access and driving equity for the LGBTQ+ community in the outdoors. The Vans® brand unveiled its Off The Wall Pride Gallery Collection and donated $200,000 from the Checkerboard Fund at Tides Foundation to three organizations advocating for and providing the space, access and community needed to uplift the voices of the LBGTQ+ community. And the Smartwool® brand has supported the LGBTQ+ community in Denver for several years, and in FY23, Smartwool was the presenting sponsor of the Denver PRIDE 5K.

“For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr Director of Workplace Equality. “Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families.” 

The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the U.S. and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002. These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe.  VF’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. 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;
• Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
• Corporate social responsibility.

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.

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About VF Corporation

Founded in 1899, VF Corporation is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies connecting people to the lifestyles, activities and experiences they cherish most through a family of iconic outdoor, active and workwear brands including Vans®, The North Face®, Timberland® and Dickies®. Our purpose is to power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. We connect this purpose with a relentless drive to succeed to create value for all stakeholders and use our company as a force for good. For more information, please visit vfc.com.

About The Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice. Its work has transformed the landscape for more than 15 million workers, 11 million students, 1 million clients in the adoption and foster care system and so much more. The HRC Foundation provides direct consultation and technical assistance to institutions and communities, driving the advancement of inclusive policies and practices; it builds the capacity of future leaders and allies through fellowship and training programs; and, with the firm belief that we are stronger working together, it forges partnerships with advocates in the U.S. and around the globe to increase our impact and shape the future of our work.

Media Contact
Colin Wheeler
Vice President, Corporate Communications
colin_wheeler@vfc.com