Unilever Recognized as Best Place to Work by Human Rights Campaign

Company Earns Perfect Score on 2012 LGBT Equality Index

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unilever is proud to be recognized as a “Best Place to Work” by the Human Rights Campaign, achieving a perfect score of 100 percent on the organization’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index for the fourth year in a row. The ranking underscores the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Unilever was one of only eight CPG companies to earn the top rating.

“Unilever is pleased to be a top performer on this year’s Corporate Equality Index”

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, uses the Corporate Equality Index as a measure to rank U.S. companies on their treatment of LGBT employees, consumers and investors.

"Unilever is pleased to be a top performer on this year’s Corporate Equality Index,” said Chris Herrick, Vice President of Human Resources at Unilever. “It is a true honor that our efforts and commitment to furthering equal rights for everyone in the workplace have been recognized.”

The Human Rights Campaign’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index chronicles a decade of progress in workplace equality, with 2012 marking the first year of more stringent criteria regarding transgender health benefits. The Corporate Equality Index rates companies on 40 specific policies and practices, 32 of which are either new or more demanding than in previous years.

To achieve a perfect score, companies must have fully-inclusive equal employment opportunity policies, provide equal employment benefits, demonstrate organizational LGBT competency, evidence their commitment to equality publicly and exercise responsible citizenship. This year’s Corporate Equality Index tells a powerful story of American businesses working to meet that higher bar.

Unilever was among 638 U.S. companies rated this year, with only 190 participants earning a perfect score of 100 percent. A full summary of the ranking can be found at: http://www.hrc.org/cei

Unilever North America

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, OMO, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemmé, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2010. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com, www.unilever.ca, or www.unilevercaribbean.com.