On Nov. 19, for the third consecutive year, Comcast NBCUniversal earned a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and was named a Best Place to Work for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Equality.  Comcast NBCUniversal is honored to be an employer of choice for the LGBT community.

The CEI is a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality including: non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBT community.  More than 950 companies were rated for the 2015 CEI and Comcast NBCUniversal is proud to receive a perfect score and to be among the HRC’s Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality.

As an Executive Champion of Comcast’s LGBT focused Employee Resource Group (ERG), OUT@Comcast, I am extremely proud of this recognition of our collective dedication to an inclusive workplace for all.

OUT@Comcast is designed to engage people at all levels of the organization, and empower employees to drive exceptional business results while supporting an inclusive company culture.  NBCUniversal’s LGBT focused ERG, OUT@NBCUniversal, was founded in 1986, and was one of the nation’s first LGBT ERGs.   We are excited that OUT@NBCUniversal will also become the first and only LGBT group to march under its own banner at the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17, 2015.

Diversity and inclusion is not the job of human resources, or the job of management. It really is an organic element that we all have to bring to the job, every day, to allow  each employee to bring their full self to work.  I encourage every Comcaster, every day, to contribute to a workplace where all people feel respected and where everyone brings their best, truest self to work.  If we do that, meeting all of our goals – including financial and market-based will be easier to reach. 

In order to further enhance our diversity and inclusion practices and promote the recruitment, retention, and development of LGBT employees, Comcast implemented a voluntary, confidential LGBT self-identification survey in 2013.  As of August 1, 2014, more than 6,000 employees at Comcast completed the LGBT self-identification survey, including more than 1,000 who identify as LGBT.

And,  within our NBCUniversal business, we tell wonderful stories about all kinds of people, including the LGBT community.  NBC has been a leader in the production of thought-provoking programming that feature prominent LGBT cast members dating back to the early 1980’s.

  • The first program on American television to feature a gay lead character was NBC’s Love, Sidney in 1981.

  • In 1985, NBC aired the first major film about AIDS, An Early Frost, and the first lesbian kiss in 1991 on L.A. Law.

  • In 2014, NBC’s Will & Grace was recognized for breaking ground in American media and added to the Smithsonian Institution’s LGBT history collection.

  • Comcast and NBCUniversal received 15 GLAAD Award nominations in 2014, resulting in four GLAAD Media Awards.

  • Comcast offers special multicultural programming collections for the LGBT community that inform and entertain via Video On Demand and online at Xfinity.com/LGBT.

Congratulations, Comcast NBCUniversal, and thank you to all of our employees for creating an environment that is inclusive of all people, of every race, ethnicity, religion, gender, veteran status, physical disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Click here to view the complete 2015 CEI list.