BAIN & COMPANY NAMED A “BEST PLACE TO WORK FOR GLBTQ EQUALITY” BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN

The firm earned a perfect score for the twelfth year in a row for its emphasis on attracting and retaining a diverse workforce

BOSTON – Nov. 16, 2017 – Bain & Company, along with its sister organization The Bridgespan Group, has been recognized on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) as one of the “Best Places to Work for GLBTQ Equality.” This year marks the twelfth consecutive time Bain has received a perfect score, earning recognition for continuing to create a diverse, inclusive environment where every employee can thrive.

Diversity is a strategic priority for Bain, deeply embedded in the firm’s supportive team culture. As such, Bain takes many measures to attract and develop the best talent, with diverse backgrounds, styles, and perspectives - an approach that results in more breakthrough client results and more fulfilling, rewarding experiences for Bain employees.

“We are proud that the HRC continues to recognize Bain as a great place to work for GLBTQ and ally talent,” said Russ Hagey, Bain’s Chief Talent Officer. “Diversity and inclusion are imperative to the firm’s success, and this recognition highlights our commitment to initiatives that ensure we have the right cultural foundation to ensure a broad set of diverse and talented people succeed at Bain.”

Key to delivering on this goal is the firm’s diversity and affinity groups, which work to develop specific programming to address the needs of their members. BGLAD, the Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender & Queer Network at Bain & Bridgespan, is among the most active and visible groups within Bain, offering a variety of resources to help employees drive their personal and professional development forward.

A main goal of BGLAD global leadership is to make sure BGLAD and the support the organization provides GLBTQ employees is truly global. BGLAD aims to make an employee in Mumbai, Shanghai or Sao Paulo feel as supported and empowered as an employee in San Francisco, New York or London – an ideal the firm refers to as “One Bain.” This culture of support is especially helpful to Bain’s employees who live and work in countries where being GLBTQ is less accepted or even illegal.

BGLAD is also at the forefront of inclusivity with a heightened focus on support for transgender individuals – both within the firm and more broadly. Bain offers extensive transgender health benefits covering services related to gender reassignment. The firm is also working to build or repurpose bathroom facilities into gender-neutral restrooms across all of its offices. Bain has invested in other ‘behind the scenes’ changes that make big differences to employees, including updating its systems to include gender options beyond just male/female and adjusting dress code and other policies to avoid bias and be more inclusive.

Additionally, BGLAD plays a role in creating a more inclusive culture outside of the firm. Bain was the only corporate sponsor of Pride Week in Mumbai and supported marriage-equality legislation in Australia in an effort to bring every geography to the high standards that GLBTQ individuals enjoy in the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and the U.K.

“Working with BGLAD members and the firm’s straight allies across the globe, we continue to defend against discrimination and unconscious bias to create a culture in which individuals can bring their authentic selves to work every day – no matter where in the world they are,” said João Soares, a partner in the firm’s London office and the global head of BGLAD. “We are honored that the HRC recognizes these efforts and we continue to put significant focus and effort into promoting acceptance, balance and mutual support for all Bain employees.”

Bain’s inclusive environment and supportive culture has helped earn the firm recognition around the world as a great place to work. It is the only company to rank number one on Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work” list on three separate occasions, and it has consistently placed in the top four since Glassdoor founded the list in 2008. Bain was also top-ranked for the Vault Consulting 50 for 2018 and topped its list of “Best Consulting Firms for Firm Culture.” This year also marked the tenth consecutive year that Working Mother magazine named Bain to its “Best Companies” list.

Since its founding in 2002, the CEI has been the nationally recognized benchmarking tool for companies to gauge their levels of GLBTQ inclusion and equality in the workplace.

In its 2018, report the CEI scorecard evaluated over 1,000 companies’ GLBTQ-related policies and practices, including nondiscrimination workplace protections, organizational competency in GLBTQ inclusion, transgender-inclusive health care benefits and public commitment to GLBTQ-specific efforts, such as recruiting, supplier diversity and philanthropy.

The full HRC report can be found here.

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