More businesses now than in the past are providing their LGBT employees protection against discrimination, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation reports with the release of its 7th annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI rates businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of LGBT employees, consumers and investors. In the 2009 CEI, 259 businesses achieved a perfect score, a 33 percent  increase over last year. The 2008 CEI recorded 195 companies with a perfect score. The CEI's top 259 businesses employ 9 million people. Those companies protect their employees from discrimination based on orientation and gender identity or expression because of their corporate policies on diversity and inclusion, training, healthcare and domestic-partnership benefits.

The CEI debuted in 2002, and since, transgender workers have made major gains, the HRC reports. Sixty-six percent of rated businesses now prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression, a 28 percent increase over last year. At its debut, only 5 percent of rated businesses provided employment protections based on gender identity or expression.

Click here to read HRC's report.