For Immediate Release: 11/12/2014 4:09 pm
Worcester, MA (November 12, 2014) - The city of Worcester has been awarded a perfect 100 by the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization.
The Human Rights Campaign today released its annual Municipal Equality Index report. Worcester made a dramatic leap in just one year. Last year, the city was given a 55.
Because of that, Worcester was one of a handful of cities to be highlighted as a success story, with an essay by City Manager Edward Augustus, who helped lead many of the changes that led to Worcester’s perfect score.
“When I became city manager, I made improving the city’s record on LGBT rights a priority,” Augustus said. “Some of these are small steps, but taken as a whole they tell a story: that Worcester is a place where all are welcome to live, work and play.”
The City Council was also instrumental in passing many of the changes needed to boost the city’s score. Every initiative needed to improve Worcester’s score was passed by the council unanimously.
“The perfect score we’ve received from the HRC is a reflection of our City’s commitment to welcoming all residents regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Mayor Joseph Petty said. “It is a priority of my administration that we make the City of Worcester a welcoming place to all individuals and families. The marked improvement over last year’s score shows that the efforts we have made to be more inclusive and sensitive to the needs of the LGBTQ community are working.”
In the past year, Worcester has made a host of changes, including:
The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city and Worcester’s Success Story profile, is available online at www.hrc.org/mei.
