Nearly 86% of Fortune 500 companies are making religious inclusion part of their diversity goals — the highest percentage in five years, according to a new report by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.
Its 2024 “Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Index and Monitor” report says 429 of the Fortune 500 mention or illustrate religion as part of their commitment to diversity — more than twice the 202 firms who did in 2022 and nearly double the 219 who did last year.
How businesses acknowledge their employees’ faith has become a salient issue in recent years: The Supreme Court has issued landmark decisions protecting workers’ rights in cases about whether employee can pray at work, wear a hijab or claim a specific day of religious rest and worship. Advocates say companies are better able to recruit and retain workers when they support workers’ religious rights.
In the RFBF report, 62 of the Fortune 500 said they have faith-oriented employee business resource groups that support workers in their faith. The groups are generally ad hoc associations of employees who share a faith.
The RFBF ranked American Airlines and the professional services firm Accenture as the most inclusive companies that promote religious inclusion. Other highly ranked companies include data center firm Equinix, Dell, Salesforce, Intel and Tyson Foods.
American Airlines and Accenture serve as “a role model for best practices of religious inclusion for other companies around the world,” said Brian Grim, founder and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. “Their progress in benchmarking this area of diversity is an invitation for every company to join this journey.”
The Fortune 500 are largest U.S. corporations by total revenue, as compiled annually by Fortune magazine. Among non-Fortune 500 companies, the digital software firm BMC, the management consultancy Baringa and Rolls-Royce ranked high in the RFBF report.
Of the top faith-friendly companies, 94% featured religion on their main or diversity webpage, 97% sponsor faith and belief resource groups, 94% share best practices with other companies, 87% provide chaplains or other spiritual care for workers and 94% communicate religious accommodation policies to workers.
However, the RFBF reported that fewer companies “clearly address religion in diversity training,” with 94% reporting such moves this year compared to 96% in 2023. And the percentage of firms announcing procedures for reporting religious discrimination fell by 5 points, to 91%, from last year.
The RFBF said more than 3.4 million people are employed by companies participating in its annual survey of corporate religious inclusion. Fortune magazine last year said its listing of the top 500 U.S. businesses represents two-thirds of GDP — a total of $18 trillion in revenue.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.