Diversity and Inclusion Efforts Earn Black & Veatch Top Marks in 2020 Corporate Equality Index

Company earns 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual scorecard assessing LGBTQ workplace equality

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Black & Veatch, a global leader in engineering, procurement and construction, proudly announces that it is being recognized for its ongoing commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion. For the second year in a row, the 104-year-old infrastructure solutions leader has received a score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), earning it a designation as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”

The CEI is the nation’s premier benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. The CEI ranks across five categories: Non-discrimination policies; employment benefits; demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBTQ diversity and inclusion; public commitment to LGBTQ equality; and responsible citizenship. Black & Veatch’s efforts in satisfying those criteria earned it the perfect ranking. More than 1,000 U.S.-based companies participated in 2020, with over 680 earning top marks.

“We are proud to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign with a perfect score for the second year in a row,” said Steve Edwards, CEO of Black & Veatch. “Companies that embrace a variety of backgrounds and perspectives are more successful and offer the type of workplace experience that drives better employee engagement and retention. As an employee-owned company, we believe deeply in respecting and appreciating every voice.”

This recognition burnishes the company’s reputation for diversity and inclusiveness. In 2019, Black & Veatch CEO Steve Edwards signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The pledge reflects the company’s commitment to nurturing a trusting workplace that values inclusiveness, enables difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion, expands education about unconscious bias, and examines practices designed to create an inclusive work environment.

In early 2020, Forbes named Black & Veatch to its annual list of Best Employers for Diversity, recognizing the company’s commitment to enabling a diverse and inclusive workforce. And in 2019, the company was awarded the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Champion of Diversity’ award and was selected as one of Ingram’s “Best Companies to Work For.”

“The impact of the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index over its 18-year history is profound. In this time, the corporate community has worked with us to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive policies, practices and benefits, establishing the Corporate Equality Index as a primary driving force for LGBTQ workplace inclusion in America and across the globe,” HRC President Alphonso David said. “These companies know that protecting their LGBTQ employees and customers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do – it is also the best business decision.”

For more information about career opportunities with Black & Veatch, please visit: https://careers.bv.com/.

Editor’s Notes:

• In 2019, Forbes named Black & Veatch one of America’s best large employers, one of America's best employers for diversity, and one of America's best employers for women.
• Black & Veatch won the Mid-America Asian Culture Association’s 2019 ‘Employer Diversity Excellence Award,’ given to a business that cultivates an inviting multicultural workplace.
• The full 2020 CEI report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries by addressing the resilience and reliability of our world's most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2018 were US$3.5 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

About The Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.