Rackspace Named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality

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Rackspace Named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality

For the third consecutive year, Rackspace scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, keeping us on the list of companies named "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality."

"Rackspace is honored to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for our commitment to fostering a diverse, engaged workforce,” said Rackspace Chief Legal and People Officer Holly Windham. “We are dedicated to creating an environment where we can bring our whole selves to work. By embracing the power of our differences, we enable our workforce to deliver a Fanatical Experience™ to our customers, communities and each other.”

The perfect score also means Rackspace, alongside some of our customers and partners, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, is included in the HRC's "Buying for Equality Guide," which features products and services from companies which demonstrate a commitment to LGBTQ equality.

Now in its eighteenth year, the HRC's Corporate Equality Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. They help advance best practices for LGBTQ workplace inclusion that should be expected of large employers.

Businesses across the country use the index as a guide to ensure their existing policies and benefits are inclusive of the LGBTQ workforce and their families, something we firmly believe results in better recruitment and retention of a talented, diverse workforce.

That includes people like Alex Darke, a senior level Linux administrator who has been with Rackspace for all but two of the company’s 21 years in business. He said the honor comes as little surprise: “It just confirms what I learned firsthand 18 years ago when I came to work for Rackspace: this is a company that values diversity, champions inclusiveness and sees difference among workers as something to be valued. “As one of (if not the) first openly gay employees at Rackspace back in 2001, it was remarkable to work in an environment where I was never once asked to hide who I am. At Rackspace I’ve always had the freedom to be my whole, authentic self.”

Darke, the co-chair of Pride, the Racker Resource Group for LGBTQ employees and their allies, says he’s been particularly pleased with “how accepting an environment Rackspace has become for our trans brothers and sisters, stepping ahead of the curve of other businesses in building a welcoming and accepting environment at a time when they need that visible support.”

Pride has been critical to Rackspace’s efforts to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all Rackers — regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. We provide benefits for Rackers in domestic partnerships, and in 2018, Rackspace added insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments for gender transition procedures.

For myself, as engagement and inclusion program manager, it has been incredibly satisfying to see the remarkable work our partners around the business have done to ensure parity of benefits packages and offerings. The Human Rights Campaign list is one of many workplace accolades Rackspace has received in recent years. Investments in our employees and our culture mean we're regularly included in 'great places to work' lists, including FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,”  “Best Tech Workplaces” and “Best Workplaces for Parents.” We’re also a top workplace for Latinas, millennials and veterans.


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