The HRC Foundation looks for employers who have demonstrated their commitment to LGBTQ+ equality through engaging with and supporting the broader LGBTQ+ community, external to its own employees. When a business engages the LGBTQ+ community, it effectively "comes out" and displays a public commitment to LGBTQ+ issues. But it also sends a message to LGBTQ+ employees and candidates that their gender identity and sexual orientation are not just accepted by that organization but valued.
Such efforts include positive, targeted recruiting, supplier diversity programs, marketing and advertising, philanthropic activities and support for LGBTQ+ equality under the law.
The Corporate Equality Index has asked employers about external engagement (encompassing marketing, advertising and philanthropy) since 2002. Seventy-nine percent of 2015 CEI-rated businesses report implementing at least three efforts of public engagement with the LGBTQ+ community, namely through marketing, advertising and recruitment efforts, philanthropic contributions to LGBTQ+ organizations, LGBTQ+ diverse supplier initiatives and public policy weigh-in.