Maine ranks in top 10 for LGBTQ+ business climate
Maine ranks sixth-best among all states for business policies and attitudes around LGBTQ+ inclusion, according to a new national index.
The Out Leadership State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index places the state among the more progressive ones. Maine received a score of 88.67 on the 100-point index. The average score across all 50 states was 64.61.
New York nabbed the top ranking with a score of 93.67, while South Carolina came in last with a score of 33.63.
The index is sponsored by Out Leadership, an international business coalition that includes companies such as Amazon and Johnson & Johnson.
The index measures states’ performances on LGBTQ+ inclusion, including the impact government policies and prevalent attitudes have on LGBTQ+ people residing in each state, quantifying the economic imperatives for inclusion and the costs of discrimination.
“Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people creates serious challenges for talent mobility, retention, and development,” researchers said.
While the top-ranked states for LGBTQ+ equality broadly increased in score, the bottom ranked states decreased in score or remained stagnant at nearly the same rate.
Researchers said that trend signaled “increasing polarization across the country in political and cultural attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community."
The largest changes in scores between 2021 and 2022 were driven by legal and nondiscrimination protections, as well as youth and family support. But there was strong anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in states such as Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, and Kentucky, according to the report.
“We continue to see similar concerning trends: states with high scores continue to add protections and rights for all LGBTQ+ individuals, while states with low scores are seeing increased anti-LGBTQ+ policies at the state level and cultural trends are moving in that same direction,” the researchers said.
The index consists of five categories of criteria: legal and nondiscrimination protections, youth and family support, political and religious attitudes, health access and safety, and work environment and employment. Each section totaled 20 points and accounted for one-fifth of the index total.
Researchers evaluated current legislation, policies, resource allocation and attitudes in each of the 50 states and created metrics that rank the impact each state has on LGBTQ+ safety and inclusion.
“The data reflects a troubling trend: too many states are mortgaging their future in order to be discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people. Despite the best efforts of a few governors standing in opposition to their legislative counterparts, states are betting that short-term wins in the culture war will outweigh long term losses in talent recruitment, innovation, and consumer trust,” the report said.
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