The Human Rights Campaign released the 2023 Municipal Equality Index, and Austin is on the list. How did we score?
Each year, the Human Rights Campaign releases a Municipal Equality Index, which takes a deep dive into municipal laws, policies, services, and how inclusive they are of LGBTQ+ people. This year’s edition examined 506 cities on 49 different criteria across five categories: non-discrimination laws, municipality as employer, services and programs, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.
Based on these criteria, Austin earned a score of 100 out of 100. In case you missed it, that’s the same as last year’s score. Here’s a breakdown of how we got here… and how that score might change.
Non-discrimination laws
This category looks at whether LGBTQ+ discrimination is prohibited by law in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation. Austin achieved a 30 out of 30 for our laws across the state, county, and municipality.
Municipality as employer
Cities can achieve points for inclusive employment policies like trans-inclusive healthcare policies and non-discrimination in city employment. Austin got a 23 out of 28.
Since last year, our score lowered in the subcategory addressing transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits.
Services and programs
This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. Austin scored 12 out of 12, and got bonus points for city-offered services like those offered to people living with HIV or AIDS.
Law enforcement
Looking at the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community, Austin earned 22 out of 22.
Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality
This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. Austin got an 8 out of 8.
Other studies like this
The HRC isn’t the only organization tracking Austin’s inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. Explore these locally conducted studies for comparison:
Looking ahead
Even a perfect score doesn’t mean a perfect city. Austin earned its score with bonus points and would achieve a higher score from the HRC with a few extra efforts. For example, our city would achieve a higher score from the HRC by reinstating last year’s transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits for employees, offering services to the transgender community and LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness.
If you want to get involved, here are some local organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.
