NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth consecutive year, Astellas has achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index (the Index).

"Fostering a workplace environment that enables respect and success for all employees makes for a stronger and more successful business," said Eloiza Domingo-Snyder, Executive Director, Diversity & Inclusion. "We want all of our employees to feel valued and free to bring their authentic selves to work every day."

The Index evaluates a company's LGBTQ-related policies and practices, including domestic partner benefits, non-discrimination workplace protections, competency programs, transgender-inclusive health care benefits and public engagement with the LGBTQ community. Astellas achieved a 100 percent score and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality, mirroring its scores and awards from 2015-2019.

Astellas' benefits cover all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) employees and their spouses or domestic partners. Coverage includes the company's StarLife Family Care Solutions, a program that embraces the broader needs of employees from child to elder care offerings, among other benefits.

"Astellas supports its LGBTQ employees and their allies through an active employee impact group (EIG), known as Together as One (TAO)," said Linda Friedman, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and TAO executive sponsor. "TAO is one of seven dynamic EIGs that create and embrace a diverse culture where employees seek to reach their full professional and personal potential."

The company celebrates inclusion by participating annually in the Chicago Pride Parade and marked a decade of parade participation in 2019. Astellas also shows its support for the LGBTQ community by flying the Pride flag outside its Americas headquarters during Pride Month and the Transgender Pride flag for the entire week preceding International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Astellas also works with multiple external partners to positively impact the LGBTQ community. In the last year, many employees used their paid volunteer time off to give back to El Rescate, a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth in the Chicago area.

For more information on Astellas, visit www.astellas.us.

About HRC Corporate Equality Index
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

About Astellas
Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com/us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/5911/.

SOURCE Astellas