Hayward L. Bell, Raytheon’s chief diversity officer, explained, “For Raytheon, adding gender identity and expression to our policy was an example of matching the talk with the walk. We have historically supported employees facing transitions so this policy change makes our intention and beliefs regarding inclusion more explicit and it ensures consistency across the company. In addition, we have provided information kits on gender identity and expression to our leaders and human resources professionals to ensure they are more knowledgeable and thus better able to support Raytheon employees.”

“People who are comfortable and who feel included are more effective as employees – more creative and committed,” according to Suellen Roth, vice president of global policy and diversity at Avaya, a Fortune 500 company and recipient of a perfect rating on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. “That helps the company attract and retain top talent and reach more markets.”

“What we have found in our recruiting efforts is that individuals will often look for signals about what a culture is like; having gender identity protection signals we are a diversity leader and are serious about providing an inclusive environment,” said Ben Hladilek, HR business partner at JP Morgan Chase, which also has maintained a 100 percent rating since 2002.