Houston Republic

Norton Rose Fulbright, which is based in Houston, earned a score of 100 in a ranking that evaluates the corporate non-discrimination policies based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

A total of 14 companies in Texas received a rating of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index. Nationwide, 842 businesses received the maximum score, reflecting the rating’s evaluation that these are among the “best places” for LGBTQ+ members to work.

Norton Rose Fulbright is not on the Fortune 1000 list of large U.S. companies.

The CEI rating criteria are based on four categories: nondiscrimination policies, pledges of equal benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and their families, support for an inclusive workplace and “corporate social responsibility.”

Companies might be adhering to CEI policies to please their top shareholders and secure bonuses and board positions for themselves, the New York Post reported. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who has been called “the face” of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), wrote in a 2018 letter to CEOs titled “A Sense of Purpose” that companies that fail to serve a social purpose “will ultimately lose the license to operate from key stakeholders.”

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, author of “Woke Inc.: Inside America’s Social Justice Scam,” said, “The big fund managers like BlackRock all embrace this ESG orthodoxy in how they apply pressure to top corporate management teams and boards and they determine, in many cases, executive compensation and bonuses and who gets re-elected or re-appointed to boards. They can make it very difficult for you if you don’t abide by their agendas.”

Prioritizing CEI rankings might not always bring the results executives are hoping for, as in the case of Anheuser-Busch’s promotion of Dylan Mulvaney, a 26-year-old TikTok star who transitioned from male to female in 2021 and has since raked in over $1 million in brand endorsements. Bud Light’s and Nike’s ad campaigns featuring Mulvaney drew criticism from stars like Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and Caitlyn Jenner, but Derek Kreifels, the co-founder and CEO of State Financial Officers Foundation, said the backlash may end up being more significant.

In the two weeks after Bud Light’s launch of the Mulvaney ad campaign, Anheuser-Busch’s value decreased by more than $5 billion, the New York Post reported.

The CEI ranking examines business-related activities such as education, training and accountability measures and how inclusive they are.

A total of 1,200 companies, both privately and publicly held, participated in the survey in 2022. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation initiated the survey in 2002.

Employer	Headquarters Location	State	2022 CEI Rating	Fortune 1000 Rank?
Allied Electronics Automation	Fort Worth	TX	80	No
American Airlines	Fort Worth	TX	100	Yes
Avita Pharmacy	Plano	TX	100	No
Commercial Metals	Irving	TX	20	Yes
ConocoPhillips	Houston	TX	100	Yes
Direct Energy	Houston	TX	90	No
Enbridge	Houston	TX	100	Yes
ENGIE North America	Houston	TX	95	No
EnLink Midstream	Dallas	TX	20	Yes
Enterprise Products Partners LP	Houston	TX	10	Yes
EOG Resources	Houston	TX	20	Yes
Federal Reserve Bank Dallas	Dallas	TX	100	No
Fujitsu America, Inc.	Richardson	TX	100	No
Group 1 Automotive	Houston	TX	20	Yes
Invitation Homes	Dallas	TX	80	No
JSX	Dallas	TX	100	No
Match Group	Dallas	TX	100	No
Norton Rose Fulbright	Houston	TX	100	No
NTT DATA Services, LLC	Plano	TX	100	No
Occidental Petroleum	Houston	TX	20	Yes
Phillips 66	Houston	TX	100	Yes
PROS	Houston	TX	95	No
Quanta Services	Houston	TX	75	Yes
Rackspace Technology	San Antonio	TX	100	Yes
Sabre Corporation	Southlake	TX	60	Yes
Service Corporation International	Houston	TX	65	Yes
TENET Healthcare Corporation	Dallas	TX	80	Yes
Texas Instruments Incorporated	Dallas	TX	100	Yes
United Services Automobile Association	San Antonio	TX	100	Yes
Vistra Energy	Irving	TX	20	Yes
Westlake Chemical	Houston	TX	20	Yes
Wood	Houston	TX	65	No
Yum China Holdings	Plano	TX	20	Yes