BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) received a score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign on the 2013 U.S. Corporate Equality Index. This is the ninth consecutive year that Whirlpool has attained a perfect score on the index, the first and only appliance company to do so. The Corporate Equality Index rates American workplaces on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equality.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20040202/DETU004LOGO )

"It makes me proud that we are at the forefront of workplace equality and we're honored to be on HRC's list of top U.S. companies," says Marc Bitzer, President of North American Region, Whirlpool Corporation. "We are a century-old company, yet we define our values of respect, diversity, and inclusion in a modern way – one that helps our workplace move forward to support equality."

The perfect score on the Index is a result of the company's dedication to workplace equality. In 2002, Whirlpool instituted domestic partner benefits, and recently introduced benefits to support transgender employees. Whirlpool Corporation also created its own video, "It Gets Better" in honor of National Coming Out Day, and is the first appliance brand to feature same-sex couple families in national appliance ads. It has implemented LGBT equality diversity training to employees across the U.S. and has a track record of supporting LGBT workplace equality at both the state and federal levels of government.

Whirlpool has six employee resource groups, one of which is the PRIDE Network. It was established in 1999 for the company's LGBT employees and their supporters, and has a vision to be the top company for the LGBT community in support of the company's vision – Every Home, Everywhere.

About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion in 2011, 68,000 employees, and 65 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world.  The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.  Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com. 

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation