PITTSBURGH, PA (November 18, 2021) The Office of Mayor William Peduto has proudly announced today that for the fifth year in a row, the City of Pittsburgh has scored 100/100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index Scorecard (MEI), earning an additional 15 flex points, the City’s highest to date.
The 2020 MEI scored 506 U.S cities of varying sizes on criteria that examine how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are for LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and the city leadership’s public and policy positions on equality.
A few examples of areas MEI scored cities on include the offering of transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, non-discrimination laws in employment, housing and public accommodations, an LGBTQ+ police liaison, an LGBTQ+ liaison in the Mayor’s Office and non-discrimination for City employment and contractors. While the final score cannot exceed 100, the City of Pittsburgh received 15 additional flex bonus points for additional equality measures such as:
- Laws protecting youth from conversion therapy
- City employee domestic partner benefits
- Youth bullying prevention policy for city services
- City services for LGBTQ+ youth
- City services for LGBTQ+ older adults
- City services provided to people living with HIV or AIDS
- City services for the transgender community
- Openly LGBTQ+ city elected or appointed leaders
“We are proud to receive the maximum 100 points for the fifth year in a row from the Human Rights Campaign,” said Mayor Peduto. “We have received a record number of flex points for Pittsburgh thanks to the hard work of our Office of Equity, elected officials and departments in working towards a welcoming, more inclusive city for all.”
The City of Pittsburgh’s full 2021 MEI scorecard can be found here.
