Carnival Corporation Earns Fourth Consecutive Perfect Score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index

MIAMI, Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL;NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today announced that for the fourth consecutive year it has earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's premier benchmarking survey and report measuring U.S. companies on their corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.

Carnival Corporation has been recognized a total of seven times in the annual CEI report from HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the largest civil rights organization in the U.S. dedicated to working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. In addition to the perfect index score of 100, HRC Foundation has designated Carnival Corporation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

"Across our company and our nine global cruise line brands, we are committed to equality, inclusion and diversity for everyone who is building a career as part of our organization," said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. "We are honored to be recognized as a best place to work for our over 150,000 employees, and we believe our commitment to diversity inspires innovation, collaboration and teamwork that gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace and plays a key role in our reputation for providing our 13 million annual guests with consistently extraordinary vacation experiences."

As part of its broader corporate strategy that includes its commitment to further improve ethics and sustainability, Carnival Corporation is committed to continuing to build a diverse and inclusive workforce and to provide all employees with a positive work environment and opportunities to build a rewarding career to further drive employee engagement. The sustained recognition from HRC over a multi-year period is an important validation of the company's ongoing commitment, and builds upon recent recognitions the company has earned for its dedication to diversity and inclusion. Most recently, Carnival Corporation was named one of the top companies in America on Forbes' annual list of Best Employers for Diversity. The corporation was recognized as the highest rated company in the cruise industry, the No. 3 employer in the travel and leisure sector, and No. 77 overall among the 500 top employers.

"The impact of the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index over its 18-year history is profound. In this time, the corporate community has worked with us to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive policies, practices and benefits, establishing the Corporate Equality Index as a primary driving force for LGBTQ workplace inclusion in America and across the globe," said HRC President Alphonso David. "These companies know that protecting their LGBTQ employees and customers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do ? it is also the best business decision. In addition, many of these leaders are also advocating for the LGBTQ community and equality under the law in the public square. From supporting LGBTQ civil rights protections in the U.S. through HRC's Business Coalition for the Equality Act, to featuring transgender and non-binary people in an ad in Argentina, to advocating for marriage equality in Taiwan ? businesses understand their LGBTQ employees and customers deserve to be seen, valued and respected not only at work, but in every aspect of daily life."

Carnival Corporation has an ongoing record of supporting diversity and inclusion around the world, including significant efforts on issues such as marriage equality. This includes being actively engaged in supporting efforts by OUTBermuda and other LGBTQ community organizations to advocate for the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Bermuda.

The company has also shown support through:

• offering welcoming environments with LGBTQ cruises, onboard activities and special events, including the company's Holland America Line brand sponsoring the 2020 Seattle Men's and Women's Chorus Annual Dinner and Auction;
• participating in Florida Competes (formerly Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce), a top coalition to end LGBTQ discrimination in the state's businesses;
• participation and sponsorship of annual Pride events to raise awareness and funds for LGBTQ organizations, including the Los Angeles Pride Parade, Seattle Pride Parade and Southampton (England) Pride; and
• partnering with equal opportunity champions such as the Human Rights Campaign, Executive Leadership Council, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, Catalyst and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.

In its 18^th year, the CEI evaluates U.S.-based companies and top law firms on detailed criteria falling under five broad categories including non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, demonstrated organizational competency and accountability around LGBTQ diversity and inclusion, public commitment to LGBTQ equality and responsible citizenship.

About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.  

Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 105 ships with 254,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 16 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

With a long history of innovation and providing guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has received thousands of industry awards ? including recognition by the Consumer Technology Associationtm as a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for OceanMedalliontm. A revolutionary wearable device that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies, OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. 

Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc