Dive Brief:
- Barilla, the world's largest pasta company, has received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign in its annual Corporate Equality Index, which rates the gay-friendliness of companies.
- The score - based on a number of actions by the Italian company, such as offering health benefits to transgender workers and the use of gay couples in marketing material - is a remarkable turnaround.
- Last September, Barilla's chairman made a series of anti-gay remarks in a radio interview, leading to calls for a global boycott of the company.
Dive Insight:
What a difference a year makes. It was only in November of last year that Barilla began taking formal steps to be more inclusive - and recover from the scandal.
What a difference 13 years makes as well. In the first edition of the CEI more than a decade ago, only 13 businesses received a perfect score. This year there were 366 such businesses, including 21 in the food, beverage, and groceries industry.