A lot of progress has been made towards making lesbian, bi, gay, trans, and queer employees feel welcomed in the workplace over the last few years, for remote positions and in-office work alike. However, not every company is doing everything they can to promote equality.
June is Pride month, which means that a lot of companies are currently splashing rainbow flags on their logos and proclaiming to be allies, but how many of them can actually back up these claims when July comes around, especially if you’re an employee? It’s important to investigate whether or not the business you’re applying to actually has the infrastructure in place to make you feel welcomed and supported at work.
In this guide, you’ll learn about some of the best companies to work for as an LGBTQ+ individual in 2024, offering benefits, systems, and general inclusivity for all employees.
1. Adobe
Adobe has a corporate motto, Adobe for All, which outlines how the company is “committed to building and advancing our global employee population to reflect the diversity of our customers and the world around us.”
This appears to be true, with Adobe offering a wide range of benefits for LGBTQ+ individuals to include them in the workplace. From medically necessary services for gender-affirming care to non-birthing parental leave, the company has been steadfast in support of its LGBTQ+ employees.
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On top of that, Adobe frequently hosts employee panel discussions and guest speaker engagements year-round, not just during Pride Month.
2. Dropbox
Inclusivity is the name of the game at Dropbox, with the cloud storage company actually winning the BuiltIn “Celebrating Inclusive Workspaces” award in 2022. Why you ask? Because they’ve got LGBTQ+ employee benefits coming out the wazoo!
Dropbox offers financial support for employees interested in potential adopting, gender-affirming care through its Anthem health coverage, and community-specific educational sessions on topics such as allyship and supporting LGBTQIA+ parents.
Even better, to ensure inclusivity for its gender-affirming care, Dropbox does not require the typical mental health certifications to receive it.
3. Groupon
When it comes to providing benefits for LGBTQ+ employees, Groupon does not take 50% off. The company has shown it’s committed to building an inclusive company that pays full price when it comes to encouraging diversity on its team.
More specifically, Groupon offers adoption assistance programs and equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care. The company also has an LGBTQ+ employee resource group to help ease any issues staff might have about their acceptance in the workplace.
4. Nvidia
Over the last year, Nvidia has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, largely driven by the push to launch more and more AI across the business landscape. A new AI chip isn’t all the company is up to, though, as it’s considered one of the best companies for LGBTQ+ employees.
For family planning, all Nvidia employees have access to FertilityIQ, a service that “provides connections to resources created by expert clinicians” in hopes of helping out gay, lesbian, and trans employees to find a path to parenthood.
For gender affirming care, Nvidia goes above and beyond, offering a lot of benefits through its health plan, including surgery and other surgical services, travel and lodging, hair removal, speech therapy, and hormone therapy visits and administration.
5. Pinterest
Pinterest can be a great place to find inspiration for your Pride Month outfits, but it’s also a company that has made huge strides in providing care and support for their LGBTQ+ employees.
Most notably, Pinterest has wide range of communities, one of which is the Up & Out community that focuses on supporting LGBTQ+ staff. This group provides engagement opportunities to meet others, educational moments in the form of speakers and talks, and philanthropic endeavors to raise money for the cause.
Pinterest also offers medical plans that follow the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standard of care, and its US medical benefits include transgender services such as hormone therapy, fertility, gender affirming surgery and counseling.
6. Apple
You would hope that one of the biggest tech brands in the world, which boasts the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, would be an LGBTQ-friendly place to work, and you’d be right.
The company has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ causes, and has lobbied heavily against legislation that would harm gay and trans communities.
Within Apple, employees can join one of the many Diversity Network Associations (DNA), which champion difference and acceptance, and first started way back in 1986. The LGBTQ-based network, Pride@Apple, helps employees connect with likeminded workers, ensures that their voices are heard by leadership, and provides support and resources.
7. Salesforce
Salesforce is the largest CRM provider in the world, representing nearly a third of the industry in market share. Luckily, they haven’t let all that success go to their head, with the company offering a litany of benefits that make their LGBTQ+ employees feel welcomed.
For starters, Salesforce has a full-on global Gender Inclusive Benefits package, gender affirmation leave, medical reimbursement, wardrobe reimbursement, counseling services, and legal fee reimbursement to support trans employees.
Salesforce also has a company-focused support line, called Warmline, that has been updated and improved to include resources for LGBTQ+ employees.
8. Google
Google may not have the long history of LGBTQ+ support that Apple does, but in fairness, it hasn’t been around as long as the Cupertino giant. However, it’s not to far behind, with its first LGBTQ employee group, Gayglers, established over twenty years ago, and became an important resource for the community.
Today, the group is called Pride at Google, but there’s no doubt that the members have had a massive impact on the company over the years, helping to steer it in the right direction when it comes to queer employees, offering insightful and true voices.
In terms of perks, the company extended health insurance and medical leave benefits to same-sex partners in 2010, and a year later, it offered transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, which included transitioning procedures and treatment.
Data from the company’s 2023 diversity report, shows that 7% of Google staff identify as LGBTQA+.
9. Spotify
As arguably the biggest music streaming platform in the world, it’s great to know that Spotify is also on the right side of the issues when it comes to taking care of their LGBTQ+ employees.
For one, Spotify offers an LGBTQ+ employee group, dubbed Spectrum, which provides counseling, support, and other important resources for staff members.
Spotify even created a video outlining its transgender support options, including masculinization and feminization treatments recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health that have helped real-life employees since 2019.
