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The Human Rights Campaign Foundation awarded 545 companies with a perfect score on its annual Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates U.S. based companies that opt into the survey on their policies for LGBTQ+ equality.
Target and Anheuser-Busch — two companies at the center of high-profile protests this year related to LGBTQ+ rights — both submitted to scoring.
The 2023 survey results come against a background of heightened tensions for the LGBTQ+ community.

Attendees hold large Pride flag at the 2023 LA Pride Parade on June 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images

In a year stained by boycotts, protests and heightened consumer choice, hundreds of companies came through for LGBTQ+ equality, according to a leading advocacy group.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation awarded 545 companies with a perfect score on its annual Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates U.S. based companies that opt into the survey on their policies for LGBTQ+ equality. More than 800 of the 1,384 companies scored earned at least 90 of the possible 100 points.

When the index first began in 2002, only 13 companies earned the highest score.
“Companies are not backing down from diversity, equity inclusion, instead, they’re stepping up because they know that it’s good for their bottom line and good for their business,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said. “Employees are 4½-times more likely to want to work for companies that are standing with the LGBTQ+ community.
“We’re looking at a world right now where consumers are two times more likely to shop at a brand that stands with the LGBTQ+ community,” Robinson added.
Companies ranging from 3M to Coca-Cola to JPMorgan Chase to Salesforce earned the top score on the HRC’s index.
Companies were scored on four key pillars: non-discrimination policies across business entities, equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and their families, supporting an inclusive culture, and corporate social responsibility.

This year, HRC expanded the index’s focus to also consider LBGTQ+ family formation rights, enhanced transgender-inclusive healthcare and gender transition guidelines.
Target and Anheuser-Busch — two companies at the center of high-profile protests this year related to LGBTQ+ rights — both submitted to scoring and received deductions from last year. Target scored a 95 this year, while Anheuser-Busch scored a 75. Both received a perfect 100 in 2022.
Over the summer, Target reported incidents of violence and threats to its employees over some of its Pride merchandise, leading the retailer to remove some items. CEO Brian Cornell said on a media call there was a material impact to sales and traffic at some stores during June, but trends normalized once the retailer made the changes.
“[Target] tried to make it seem as though there were two sides in this fight for equality,” Robinson said. “The lesson that we’ve learned this year, time and time again, is that there aren’t two sides to equality.”
Anheuser-Busch saw a sharp decline in sales of its popular Bud Light beer brand after right-wing backlash to a partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“The lesson from this year is that when you confront a bully, they back down. So I also like to lift up examples like Nike that receives similar attacks,” Robinson said. “When they refuse to let up and give ground, those attacks diminish fairly quickly and they also saw their consumer stand with them.”

Employee benefits

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, received a score of negative 25 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index “because of their extremely bad practices,” Robinson said.
“[Twitter] was fortunately a company that we partnered with to get on the right side of this and to really improve their workplace culture, but unfortunately under Elon Musk’s leadership, those policies had been rolled back. It’s just not the same company,” Robinson said.
While expanding or adding to employee benefits is not without a financial cost to a company, “most employers report an overall increase of less than 3.5% in total benefits cost when they implement partner benefits and marginal increases related to transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage,” according to this year’s report.
Robinson said offering equitable policies in the workplace is also “futureproofing” for businesses.
“If we look at the future, we can see that by 2040, the percentage of LGBTQ plus Americans will double in this country. This again is not just the right thing to do. It’s the best thing to do for your business.”
The 2023 survey results come against a background of heightened tensions for the LGBTQ+ community. The HRC foundation in June declared a “state of emergency” for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. for the first time in its history.
“In 2023 LGBTQ+ people faced an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults in state houses all over the country” the report states. “More than 605 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in 41 states and over 220 of those bills explicitly targeted the transgender community, particularly trans and nonbinary youth.”
“We have raised the bar, especially, for what it looks like to have trans inclusion in the workplace in the midst of so many attacks across the country,” Robinson said.
— CNBC’s Cait Freda contributed to this report. More

Ford Motor on Thursday reinstated 2023 guidance after pulling its forecast last month due to the impacts of labor strikes and negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
The guidance calls for $10 billion to $10.5 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, and adjusted free cash flow of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion.
Ford said the new UAW labor agreement is expected to cost $8.8 billion over the life of the contract, which expires in April 2028.

NEW YORK – Ford Motor on Thursday reinstated 2023 guidance after pulling its forecast last month due to the impacts of labor strikes and negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
The guidance calls for $10 billion to $10.5 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, and adjusted free cash flow of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion. That compares to its previously announced guidance of adjusted-EBIT of between $11 billion and $12 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $6.5 billion to $7 billion.

Ford said the new UAW labor agreement is expected to cost $8.8 billion over the life of the contract, which expires in April 2028. Crosstown rival General Motors on Wednesday a $9.3 billion impact over the length of the agreement.
Prior to the UAW strikes, which ended after roughly six weeks, Ford was “poised” to hit its guidance, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Oct. 26 during the company’s third-quarter earnings report.
At that time, Lawler said the UAW strike had already cost the company $1.3 billion in earnings due to lost production of about 80,000 vehicles, including roughly $100 million during the third quarter. On Thursday the company updated that impact amount to $1.7 billion, including $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
Ford further confirmed on Thursday that the UAW deal is expected to add about $900 in costs per assembled vehicle by 2028. Lawler previously said Ford would work to “find productivity and efficiencies and cost reductions throughout the company” to offset the additional costs and deliver on previously announced profitability targets.
The company said it plans to cancel or postpone $12 billion in investments related to electric vehicles.

“We’ve got a highly talented team that allocates capital with great discipline, so that we’re executing with consistency, generating strong growth and profitability, and are less cyclical,” Lawler said in a statement Thursday, citing the company’s Ford+ turnaround plan.
Lawler is expected to discuss the company’s reinstated guidance at a Barclays investor conference Thursday morning.
Ford’s update comes a day after GM said it planned to increase its quarterly dividend next year by 33% to 12 cents per share; initiate an accelerated $10 billion share repurchase program; and reinstate its 2023 guidance to include an estimated $1.1 billion in earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT-adjusted, impact from the UAW strikes.
GM’s forecast called for net income attributable to stockholders of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion; adjusted EBIT of $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion; and adjusted earnings per share of roughly $7.20 to $7.70.
Both UAW agreements include at least 25% hourly pay raises, the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments and enhanced profit-sharing payments, among other benefits.
Chrysler parent Stellantis, which was the second of the so-called “Big Three” U.S. automakers to reach a deal with the UAW, has not disclosed expected costs of its labor pact with the union. More

THE RECENT history of foreign business in India is littered with failures. Even as the country has tried to lure global businesses keen to diversify into a fast-growing emerging market and, amid rising geopolitical tensions, away from China, many multinational companies are throwing in the towel. Notable departures over the past couple of years include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; Ford, an American carmaker; Holcim, a Swiss cement giant; and Metro, a German retailer. Disney is negotiating the sale of all or part of its streaming business. On November 24th Berkshire Hathaway, a $780bn American investment Goliath, offloaded its 2.5% stake in Paytm, an Indian payments processor.These are only the latest companies to call it quits. Inbound foreign direct investment has been flat since 2018. Although nearly 11,000 foreign firms entered India between 2014 and 2021, a government report found that 2,783 had left or closed in that period—a dispiritingly high number for a supposedly fast-charging economy.Some were probably put off by practical challenges, such as clogged roads, unbreathable air and patchy telecoms networks. Some no doubt balked at the legal obstacles to hiring workers, buying land or paying the right taxes. Some may simply have felt unwelcome; local bureaucrats and business leaders often see foreigners as a direct threat to domestic interests. Crucially, many fared less well than home-grown rivals. According to BCG, a consultancy, their gross operating margins average 12%, against 15% for Indian firms. When confronted by India’s reality, as opposed to its potential, plenty of excited foreign chief executives quickly find themselves “disabused”, sighs a consulting boss.Plenty, but not all. Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes and other consumer staples made by Hindustan Unilever, the Indian arm of a British giant, can be bought in 9m shops across the country. India’s top car-seller is Maruti Suzuki, a joint venture with a Japanese firm, followed by Hyundai of South Korea. Honda of Japan may soon dethrone Hero, an Indian rival, as the bigger maker of two-wheelers. Indians snap up Samsung phones and use WhatsApp, part of Meta’s social-media empire, to talk private and, increasingly, commercial business. They make half of all their digital payments via PhonePe, which is owned by Walmart, an American retailer.Far from quitting, some foreign companies are doubling down on their Indian bets. Which businesses persevere—and why—helps understand what it takes to succeed in India as a foreign enterprise.One group of corporate outsiders that can thrive in India are those whose business is aligned with the priorities of the Indian state, such as boosting export-oriented manufacturing. Apple has become the poster child of this approach, by moving some iPhone-making to contract manufacturers setting up shop in India. Vestas of Denmark and Senvion of Germany are producing wind turbines for sale abroad. Tesla is reportedly negotiating lower import tariffs on its electric cars in exchange for setting up an electric-car factory.An indirect way to shore up India’s economic ambitions is to help build the roads, ports and other infrastructure needed to get products from the factories to faraway markets. An investment manager at a big financial firm lists the Indian subsidiaries of engineering companies as good wagers on Indian growth. Over the past ten years ABB’s Indian affiliate has generated annual total stockmarket returns of 21%, two and a half times those of its Swedish-Swiss parent. America’s Honeywell averaged 11% globally but 28% for its Indian arm.Another successful group are foreigners who make an effort to indigenise their Indian business. Some team up with well-connected locals. Google and Meta have invested billions of dollars in partnerships with Reliance Industries, India’s biggest conglomerate, whose Jio telecoms unit brought mobile internet to 440m Indians. In August BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, returned to India in a joint venture with Reliance. Its earlier foray involving a smaller partner was discontinued in 2018. If this time works out, BlackRock will have succeeded where those trying to go it alone, such as Fidelity, had failed. SAIC Motor, a Chinese car firm, is reportedly looking to sell a large stake in MG Auto, a local subsidiary facing a pernickety tax exam, to JSW, India’s steel champion.Outsiders have other ways to make their business more Indian. Rather than run its Indian bank from its home in Singapore, DBS set up a local affiliate complete with an Indian board accountable to Indian regulators. Walmart strengthened its Indian presence by acquiring a controlling stake in Flipkart, a local e-commerce platform, in 2018. In July the American retailer increased its interest by buying the stakes held by two American tech-investment firms, Tiger Global and Accel.image: The EconomistOne last important group is staying put—firms that are already big in India. Often, says the India head of a sovereign wealth fund, they flourish not by creating new markets but by replacing informal provision of existing goods and services. Many, similarly to ABB and Honeywell, earn better returns from their Indian subsidiaries, notes Nikhil Ojha of Bain (see chart). Some, like Hindustan Unilever or Maruti Suzuki, have been in the country for decades. Many Indians would consider them homegrown.Some are not so well liked, at least at first. Since it entered India ten years ago, Amazon has faced limits on local acquisitions, restrictions on selling own-label products, rules on inventory size and accusations that it threatened millions of kirana corner shops. Rather than give in, the e-emporium has stood firm. In June its boss, Andy Jassy, said it would invest an extra $6.5bn in India by 2030, bringing its total spending in the country to $26bn. It is expanding its e-commerce distribution network and building cloud-computing data centres. In November it launched FanCode, a channel on its Prime Video streaming service dedicated to sports including cricket, the national pastime.This resolute approach appears to be paying off. Resistance to Amazon’s Indian growth seems to be easing among government officials, who may have concluded that its logistical expertise is what India needs to connect its factories to the world. Billions of dollars in promised investments can’t have hurt, either. ■Stay on top of our India coverage by signing up to Essential India, our free weekly newsletter.To stay on top of the biggest stories in business and technology, sign up to the Bottom Line, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter. More

The United Auto Workers union is launching an unprecedented campaign to organize 13 non-union automakers in the U.S. after bargaining record contracts with the Detroit automakers.
The union said Wednesday the drive will cover nearly 150,000 autoworkers across with BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Fain previously vowed to move beyond the “Big Three” and expand to the “Big Five or Big Six” by the time its 4½-year contracts with the Detroit automakers expire in April 2028.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, middle, visits striking UAW Local 551 workers outside a Ford assembly center on South Burley Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Chicago. 
John J. Kim | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

The United Auto Workers union is launching an unprecedented campaign to organize 13 non-union automakers in the U.S. after securing record contracts with the Detroit automakers.
The union said Wednesday the drive will cover nearly 150,000 autoworkers across BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

As part of the campaign workers are signing electronic cards in support of union efforts to potentially organize U.S. plants from those automakers.
It is not guaranteed that the union would push to organize every plant or automaker that participates in the campaign. Overall, workers would need to vote in support of UAW representation.
UAW President Shawn Fain has said the union’s next mission after ratifying record contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis was to expand its ranks. The contracts ratified by the “Big Three” Detroit automaker include at least 25% hourly pay raises, the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments and enhanced profit-sharing payments, among other benefits.
“To all the autoworkers out there working without the benefits of a union: Now it’s your turn,” Fain said in a video posted online.
Fain previously vowed to move beyond the “Big Three” and expand to the “Big Five or Big Six” by the time its 4½-year contracts with the Detroit automakers expire in April 2028.

Launching major organizing campaigns simultaneously breaks with tradition for the union. Typically, it would spend months, if not years, gaining support of workers inside factories to eventually vote on UAW representation.
But Fain has repeatedly rewritten the rules of engaging with automakers during his short time as UAW president — he negotiated deals with Ford, GM and Stellantis simultaneously, rather than identifying a lead company on which to focus efforts — and organizing non-union automakers would greatly assist the union’s bargaining efforts and scale.
UAW membership has been nearly halved from roughly 700,000 members in 2001 to 383,000 at the beginning of this year. It peaked at 1.5 million in 1979.
Several non-union automakers such as Hyundai, Toyota and Honda announced plans to increase worker wages in the weeks following the UAW deals with Ford, GM and Stellantis.
Fain has called such increases the “UAW bump,” which he said further said stands for “U Are Welcome.”
Still, the UAW has a poor track record with trying to organize non-Detroit automakers.
The UAW has previously failed to organize foreign-based automakers in the U.S. Most recently, plants with Volkswagen and Nissan fell short of the support needed to unionize. The UAW has previously discussed organizing Tesla’s Fremont plant in California, with little to no traction in those efforts.
At the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York later on Wednesday, Musk was asked about the UAW’s aims. He replied: “If Tesla gets unionized it will be because we deserve it and we failed in some way.”
The UAW said Wednesday one of the “strongest campaigns” thus far is Toyota’s assembly complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, where 7,800 workers make the company’s iconic Camry and highly profitable RAV4 and Lexus ES.
“Workers across the country, from the West to the Midwest and especially in the South, are reaching out to join our movement and to join the UAW,” Fain said in the video. “The money is there. The time is right. And the answer is simple. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. You don’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay your rent or feed your family while the company makes billions.” More

Major League Pickleball is requesting that players consent to compensation reductions of 40%, according an email sent to players that was obtained by CNBC.
The league said it will also cut operational and event-related costs for 2024 and further revealed that it has parted ways with Commissioner Brooks Wiley.
It comes as professional pickleball has seen rapid growth in nearly every category.

Thomas Wilson of the LA Mad Drops hits a volley shot during the MLP Mesa Premier League Championships at Legacy Sports USA on January 29, 2023 in Mesa, Arizona.
Bruce Yeung  | Getty Images

Pickleball’s rapid growth may be coming back down to reality.
Major League Pickleball is requesting that players consent to compensation reductions of 40% in return for a reduction of work obligations, according an email sent to players that was obtained by CNBC.

“We have carefully studied the economics of the business and determined that certain changes need to be made to ensure a sustainable and viable business that will not only survive but thrive in 2024 and beyond for the benefit of all stakeholders,” the email reads.
The league’s proposal asks players to reduce their number of annual work days from 200 to 120 and indicates it would cut their salaries proportionally.
“You would be free to monetize the other 245 days on the annual calendar any way you choose – with 100% of any earnings on those days going to you,” the email reads.
Players who do consent will be guaranteed a minimum of 10 slots in PPA events.
The league said it will also cut operational and event-related costs for 2024 and further revealed that it has parted ways with Commissioner Brooks Wiley. It follows another major executive departure, with founder Steve Kuhn resigning in October.

News of the pay reductions was first reported by the Dink Pickleball. Both MLP and PPA declined to comment.
It comes as professional pickleball has seen rapid growth in nearly every category and as Major League Pickleball and Professional Pickleball Association are on the cusp of signing an on-again, off-again, on-again merger agreement.
As part of the pro sport’s whirlwind rise, the leagues offered huge contracts to lure players to their respective leagues.
The MLP email notes the PPA has also been communicating with its players and has made similar requests for player compensation reductions.
Reactions have been mixed among professional pickleball players.
“Aren’t there collusion/ anti- trust issues with this?” asked MVP and champion Jillian Braverman in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, following the league-wide email. “We need to leverage collective bargaining ASAP.”
Two-time Major League Pickleball champion Thomas Wilson, however, said players are paid “more than fairly even with the cuts.”
“I think most of the players seem to be on board with moving forward together to make it all work for everyone,” Wilson told CNBC.
Laura Vossberg Gainor, founder of a pickleball marketing agency, said the future of the sport is still bright as she’s watched players reap the rewards of pickleball’s growth.
“The surge in the value of their personal brands has intensified the off-court rivalry among brands vying to secure top players for product endorsements,” she said. More

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said there are other parties in the running to join the group’s investment agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
He said the tour faced an “existential threat” from PIF-owned LIV Golf before the two sides reached a deal earlier this year.
Monahan also discussed his own mental and physical health struggles during the controversy spawned by the deal.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan speaks during a press conference prior to the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cliff Hawkins | Getty Images

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday that the organization is talking to several potential investors as a deadline to clinch a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund rapidly approaches.
He also indicated that the tour is still open to another investor coming onboard alongside the PIF.

“We’re having conversations with multiple parties,” Monahan during The New York Times’ DealBook summit. The Dec. 31 deadline outlined in the original framework agreement is still a “firm target,” he said, adding that he will meet with PIF Governor Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan to “advance conversations.” The fund is controlled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Monahan gave some insight into how the framework agreement to combine the PGA Tour with PIF-owned LIV Golf came together earlier this year.
“As we approached June 5, it was very clear the PGA Tour was facing an existential threat from the $7 billion sovereign wealth fund, and it was determined to control the future of our sport,” Monahan said.
LIV and the PGA Tour were engaged in an antitrust legal battle dating back to last year. The Public Investment Fund had been luring PGA Tour golfers, including star Phil Mickelson, to LIV with deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We decided to address that by striking a deal that allowed the PGA Tour to remain and retain control” and put an end to the “extensive and divisive litigation,” Monahan said. The deal had the PGA Tour retaining control in the face of an existential threat, he added. “This was a very hard decision, but I am confident this was the right one for our players and our fans.”

Monahan also discussed his own personal struggles as he received backlash, including from lawmakers, pundits and stars such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, for the agreement with the Saudis.
The commissioner took medical leave days after the deal was announced. He said he went for a long walk the morning of June 11, prayed and came home to tell his wife that he was in a bad place and needed help.
The conflict affected “me, my mental and my physical health,” he said Wednesday. “You’re not eating right. You can’t do anything other than think about work because you care so deeply about the game, the PGA Tour, our players and our history. It took its toll on me.”
Key U.S. lawmakers questioned Saud Arabia’s ties to the deal, suggesting that the proposed merger was an attempt by the Saudi government to distract from its human rights record and gain undue influence through sports investments.
The agreement also opened the door to interest from a slew of potential investors, including Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group and TKO majority owner Endeavor Group Holdings. The PGA Tour turned down the Endeavor offer last month, but the Fenway bid appears to still be up in the air following confirmation of talks between the firm and PGA earlier this month. It’s unclear whether Fenway’s involvement would coincide with or usurp the Saudis’ bid.
In a bid to gain players’ blessings, the tour said in memo to players earlier this month that it will offer players equity ownership in the new company following the merger.
When the merger is finalized, “the PGA Tour is going to be in a position where the athletes are owners in their sport,” Monahan said. The PIF and “likely another co-investor with significant experience in business and sports will help the PGA Tour take share from other sports and be even more competitive.”
“What’s most important to our players is that they go from the model of being independent contractors to being owners,” Monahan added. More