Greensboro Ranks First In State In Annual LGBTQ Equality Index

Greensboro has topped a list in North Carolina for LGBTQ inclusivity in an annual ranking, the fifth year in a row the city has come in first place.

The Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index (MEI) looks at laws, policies, and services, then it rates them on their inclusivity of LGBTQ people who live and work in the city.

Greensboro scored 79 out of 100 points. Standout categories include city services to youth, transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, and the number of LGBTQ citizens in leadership positions.

Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Maria Hicks-Few says that the city continues to strive for equality, and is putting new systems in place.

“We can actually come up with some bullying policies as far as our municipality to make sure that the youth, as far as the library, as far as parks and rec, the coliseum, we can actually put some things in place where we are being progressive and not allowing any type of non-welcoming behavior into our facilities,“ says Hicks-Few.   

North Carolina has no statewide non-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people, so all of the cities scored a zero in that category. 

Winston-Salem scored 52 points. Areas for improvement include city services, workplace equality, and representation on a governmental level. Cary ranked last, with a total of zero points.

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Wilmington was incorrectly identified as the city with the lowest MEI rating.