that the number of Fortune 500 companies with what it called LGBTQ-inclusive board-diversity policies had more than quadrupled to 112 from just 23 in 2022. Among these same big companies, the number of LGBTQ+ board members rose to 39 from 26 last year.
Companies' turn inward also reflects corporate chiefs' assessments that they'd already staked out public positions on many social issues and that much of the work on these topics needed to be done among employees, said Paul Washington, the executive director of the ESG Center at the think tank The Conference Board.
"Companies are shifting to talk more internally, less externally, about social issues," Washington said."Companies are not backing away from the commitments they've made. But I think they are expressing them differently from the way they used to." Research from Farient Advisors, a compensation-advisory firm, and Global Governance and Executive Compensation Group found that among S&P 100 companies, 63% now tie ESG metrics to executive pay, up from 53% two years ago. ESG metrics can include inputs such as the proportion of LGBTQ+ workers.