Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index 2024
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Measuring the Fortune 500’s Commitment to Workplace Religious Inclusion
Fifth Annual Report, May 21, 2024
Executive Summary
American Airlines and Accenture are the most religiously inclusive global companies, according to the 5th annual Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index. Both organizations include religion and belief as core elements of their overall inclusion and diversity efforts, demonstrating an enduring commitment to workplaces where people of all faiths and beliefs are welcomed and celebrated.
The other top faith-and-belief friendly companies among the Fortune 500 include Equinix (#2), DELL (#3), both rising in the rankings this year. Salesforce and Intel (tied for #4), and Tyson Foods (#6) moved up two spots. AIG, American Express, PayPal, Intuit, Texas Instruments, and Google round out the top 12 on the Fortune 500 list.
A growing number of industries are now opting into the REDI Index survey to benchmark their progress in creating faith-and-belief-friendly workplaces. For example, Citigroup is the first major bank, KPMG is the first Big Four accounting firm, Kaiser Permanente is the first Health System, Aramark is the first in the comprehensive services field, and Rolls-Royce is the first in the Aerospace manufacturing industry to opt in. Firsts in other sectors include Target (retail), CMS Energy, and Altria (consumer goods), while the tech sector continues to be well represented by numerous companies including ServiceNow and Bosch.
BMC, ranked #1 among non-Fortune 500 companies, as Qualtrics continued to make progress in benchmarking success. AZZ and West Monroe made their REDI Index debut.
For the first time, REDI Index & Monitor Awards were presented to 14 companies in the UK on March 4, in a ceremony at Salesforce London Tower. Taking the overall top spot was consulting firm Baringa Partners, followed by Rolls-Royce, OVO Energy, NATS and Thames Water. TeaPak, the Italian-based division of Yogi Tea, also continued benchmarking success.
Surge of Fortune 500 Companies Paying Attention to Religious Inclusion & Diversity
For the first time in the five years of this study, we find significant evidence of a surge in US and global companies giving serious public attention to including religion as an integral part of diversity and inclusion.
Among companies participating in the 2024 REDI Index survey, 84% feature or mention religion on their main public-facing diversity landing page and/or describe how religion is part of their diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) efforts, which is a 20-point increase from 2023 when only 64% did so.
As shown in the chart, this study also finds a substantial increase in public attention given to religious inclusion across all Fortune 500 companies in terms of mentioning or illustrating religion on their public diversity pages. The number of companies doing so has more than doubled in two years, increasing from 202 (40.4%) in 2022 to 429 (85.8%) in 2024, as shown in the chart. Across the same time period, the number of Fortune 500 companies publicly reporting having religion-oriented ERGs has gone up by 67.6%, increasing from 37 companies in 2022 to 62 in 2024.
Other notable findings and impact of the study
— Recognizing the work of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, the White House has recognized that Faith-and-belief ERGs are a practical way that companies across America are building cultures of mutual respect and allyship. ERGs are recognized as an effective way to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all related forms of religious discrimination and bias.
— In all, more than 3.4 million people are employed by companies participating in the REDI Index survey.
— Companies participating in the REDI Index include global leaders in professional services (Accenture), technology (Bosch), retail (Target), internet (Google), food (Tyson), electronics (DELL), manufacturing (Intel), airlines (American Airlines), customer relationship management (Salesforce), financial services (American Express), semiconductors (Texas Instruments), insurance (AIG), and energy (CMS energy).
— Citigroup is the first major bank, KPMG is the first Big Four accounting firm, Kaiser Permanente is the first Health System, Aramark is the first in the comprehensive services field, and Rolls-Royce is the first in the Aerospace manufacturing industry to opt in.
— The APPENDIX to this report (pages 27-29) has a useful article by Kent Johnson, JD, for HR and DEI professionals titled What Faith-Oriented DEI Contributes to “Belonging”. In short, a religiously inclusive workplace produces a deep and wide sense of BELONGING to the entire enterprise.
General Fortune 500 Findings
— 429 companies (85.8%) mention, refer to or illustrate religion on their main diversity landing page, up from 202 (40%) in 2022
— 62 companies (12.4%) publicly report having faith-oriented ERGs, up from 37 companies (7.4%) in 2022
— The average REDI Monitor score across Fortune 500 companies increased from 2.1 in 2023 to 3.6 in 2024, further indicating a surge of attention to religious inclusion and diversity.
Key Survey Findings Among 32 Top Faith-Friendly Companies (REDI Index)
— 94% featured religion on company’s main or other diversity page, up from 92% in 2023
— 97% sponsor faith and belief employee resource groups, up from 92%
— 94% share best practices with other companies or organizations, up from 88%
— 94% clearly address religion in diversity training, down from 96%
— 87% provide chaplains or other spiritual care for employees, up from 80%
— 94% are attentive to how religion impacts stakeholders, up from 80%
— 94% communicate accommodation policies for employee religious needs, up from 92%
— 91% annually announce procedures for reporting religious discrimination, down from 96%
— 100% report that their employees attend religious diversity professional conferences, up from 92%
— 72% match employee donations to religious charities, the same as in 2023
— 100% equitably celebrate or honor holy days of their employees, involving thousands
REDI Index Survey Results
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ABOUT THE REDI MONITOR
Companies not completing a REDI Index survey were scored separately by our staff in the REDI Monitor (full results beginning on page 30 of the full report) based on what is available on their diversity webpages.
Explore the Data
These results were added to the US Fortune 500 survey results in order to assess the state of workplace religious inclusion in all Fortune 500 corporations. REDI Monitor results are shown beginning on page 20 of the full report.