February 12 2026, 08:15 
The Human Rights Campaign just released its annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI), assessing corporate diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives among the biggest U.S. companies in 2025.
This year’s benchmark report came with a contradiction.
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The report recorded a significant drop in the number of companies willing to report their work on non-discrimination policies, equitable benefits, an inclusive workplace culture, and corporate social responsibility – the four pillars of the CEI – as the
The CEI saw a dramatic 65% drop in participation this year, falling from 377 Fortune 500 companies in 2025 to just 131 such companies in 2026. Many of the companies that dropped out hold federal contracts, HRC noted.
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But a year‑over‑year analysis of 2025 and 2026 submissions shows that implementation of policies and practices measured by the CEI was sustained or increased, with no declines across any criterion, the group reported.
Several of the biggest Fortune 500 companies – Tractor Supply, Ford, Lowe’s, and Walmart among them – made a public show during the 2024 presidential campaign and in the early months of the president’s second term of walking back DEI efforts, including not participating in HRC’s annual report. Not reporting on those efforts, however, doesn’t mean they’re not happening.
“Our research shows the strength and the strain of this moment on LGBTQ+ workers, consumers, and the companies that count on us,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
1,450 companies overall participated in the 2026 survey. Of those, 534 earned a score of 100, representing nearly 6 million U.S. employees enjoying the benefits of the most equitable workplace culture, according to HRC.
The bottom-line benefits for companies cultivating that culture have been clear for years. Human Rights Campaign Foundation research shows that companies with transparent LGBTQ+-inclusive policies and practices have an average net income more than eight times higher than their peers.
A better work environment also increases productivity and worker retention at America’s largest companies.
More than eight in ten U.S. workers (86.0%) who described their workplace as hostile also reported being at risk of leaving their job, while nearly half of LGBTQ+ workers who reported being at risk of leaving their job (47.9%) also reported declines in productivity.
For workers at companies that did make a show of rolling back DEI, the mere perception of a diminishing commitment to equality can have devastating impacts. More than half of workers (54.2%) at organizations that publicly scaled back diversity and inclusion efforts reported experiencing stigma or bias in the past year, more than double the rate (24.9%) of workers at organizations that publicly maintained inclusion practices.
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