The Human Rights Campaign released the 2023 Municipal Equality Index, and Louisville 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, and services and how inclusive they are of LGBTQ+ people. This year’s edition examined 506 cities on 49 different criteria across five categories — Louisville earned a score of 100 out of 100. Believe it or not, our score actually increased from last year. Let’s take a look.
Non-discrimination laws
This category looks at whether LGBTQ+ discrimination is prohibited by law in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation. Louisville achieved a 30 out of 30 for our laws across the state, county, and municipality, and received bonus points for municipal protections for youths regarding conversion therapy.
Municipality as employer
Cities can achieve points for inclusive employment policies like trans-inclusive healthcare policies and non-discrimination in city employment. Louisville got a 28 out of 28 — that’s two points higher than last year, particularly in the “inclusive workplace” subcategory. We also earned bonus points for city employee domestic partner benefits.
Services and programs
This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. Louisville scored 12 out of 12. We earned five extra points this year for our LGBTQ+ liaison in the city executive’s office. See the office of equity for more information.
We also earned extra bonus points this year for services provided to the transgender community and LGBTQ+ youths.
Law enforcement
Looking at the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community, Louisville earned 22 out of 22.
Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality
This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. Louisville got an 8 out of 8, and earned bonus points for having openly LGBTQ+ elected or appointed leaders.
Looking ahead
This is the first year Louisville earned its perfect score without bonus points. However, there’s room for Derby City to earn even more bonus points. For example, the city could have a youth bullying prevention policy and could provide services to LGBTQ+ older adults.