Three Central Mass. employers named top LGBTQ+ workplaces

Photo | Courtesy of Waters Corp. Udit Batra, president & CEO of Waters Corp., in Milford

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Worcester-based Hanover Insurance, Marlborough-based Boston Scientific, and Milford-based Waters Corp. have been named to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Equality 100 Award list, honoring 545 businesses with a perfect score on the foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.

HRC’s Corporate Equality Index is a national benchmarking tool measuring policies, practices, and benefits related to LGBTQ+ employees, according to the Washington, D.C.-based foundation’s website. Companies are graded on a scoring system where 100 points indicates a perfect score.

"For innovation to thrive at Waters, we must continue to nurture an inclusive workplace where our LGBTQIA+ colleagues feel valued and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work," Waters President and CEO Udit Batra said in a Tuesday press release celebrating the company’s selection. "I am extremely proud that our progress to cultivate an open and supportive environment for all is being recognized from this rigorous evaluation process by the CEI."

Created in 2002, the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index is a tool for evaluating a company’s LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion policies. The 2023-2024 index evaluated more than 1,300 businesses against the foundation’s rubric for workplace equality, focusing on four central pillars: Non-discrimination policies, equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers, supporting an inclusive work culture, and corporate social responsibility.

The list of companies who have received a perfect score has grown significantly since the Index’s creation; 13 companies received a perfect score in 2002 vs. the 545 that received it in 2023.