The City of West Hollywood has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), a nationwide evaluation of 506 cities on how inclusive cities’ laws, policies, and services are of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The City received flex score points in recognition of specific services such as those to LGBTQ youth, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness; services to people living with HIV/AIDS; and services to the transgender community. The City also received flex calculations for its single-occupancy all-gender facilities, for its employee domestic partner benefits, and for its openly LGBTQ elected municipal leaders.

The Human Rights Campaign launched the MEI in 2012 and rates cities yearly. The MEI examines the laws, policies, and services of municipalities of various sizes from every state in the country and rates them based on their inclusivity of LGBTQ people living and working in those cities. This year’s score once again places the City of West Hollywood at the top of rated municipalities in the nation. The City of West Hollywood has received a score of 100+ on the MEI for many consecutive years.

A city’s MEI score is based on its non-discrimination laws, its recognition of relationships, its fairness and inclusiveness as an employer, its municipal services, its law enforcement, and its relationship with its LGBTQ community. Detailed scorecard information is posted on the HRC website at www.hrc.org/mei.  

Since incorporation in 1984, the City of West Hollywood has become one of the most influential cities in the nation regarding its stance on LGBTQ issues — no other city of its size has had a greater impact on the national public policy discourse on fairness and inclusiveness for LGBTQ people.

The City of West Hollywood is a community with a sizeable LGBTQ population. According to a 2019 Community Study survey, 43 percent of West Hollywood residents identified as part of the LGBTQ community, with 33 percent identifying as gay male, four percent identifying as lesbian, three percent identifying as bisexual, and three percent identifying as sexually fluid.

The City has advocated for nearly four decades for measures to support LGBTQ individuals and has been in the vanguard on efforts to gain equality for all people on a state, national, and international level. The City was also the first city to create a domestic partnership registry as well as to offer benefits to City employees for same-sex couples.

As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) represents a force of more than 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide — all committed to making HRC’s vision a reality. Founded in 1980, HRC advocates on behalf of LGBTQ Americans, mobilizes grassroots actions in diverse communities, invests strategically to elect fair-minded individuals to office, and educates the public about LGBT issues.

For additional information about the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), please contact press@hrc.org.

For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s commitment to LGBTQ workplace equality, please contact Hernán Molina, the City of West Hollywood’s Governmental Affairs Liaison at (323) 848-6364 or at hmolina@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar. West Hollywood City Hall is open for walk-in services at public counters or by appointment by visiting www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services are accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via website at www.weho.org. Receive text updates by texting “WeHo” to (323) 848-5000.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.