The Human Rights Campaign released the 2023 Municipal Equality Index, and Nashville is on the list. How did we score?
Each year, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 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, Nashville earned a score of 77 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. Nashville achieved a 0 out of 30 for our non-discrimination 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. Nashville got a 19 out of 28, but earned bonus points for having domestic partner benefits for city employees.
Services and programs
This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. Nashville scored 12 out of 12, and got bonus points for city-offered services like those offered to LGBTQ+ youths and the transgender community.
Law enforcement
Looking at the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community, Nashville earned 22 out of 22.
Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality
This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. Nashville got an 8 out of 8, and earned bonus points for having an openly LGBTQ+ leader.
Looking ahead
Nashville scored perfectly in a few categories, but could achieve a higher score from the HRC with a few extra efforts.
For example, our city would achieve a higher score by providing transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits for its employees. Additionally, the HRC didn’t identify any state, county, or municipal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in regard to employment, housing, or public accommodation.