A record 24 Israeli companies and organizations received the LGBTWORK employment equality seal for 2026, the highest number since the index began. The annual report, published Thursday, says the participating employers came from a broad mix of sectors, including high-tech, finance, health, real estate, law, industry and the public sector.
The organization said the growth beyond technology firms shows a wider embrace of inclusion efforts in Israel, even as it warned of major problems facing LGBTQ workers. One in three LGBTQ employees still hides their identity at work, 35% fear their sexual or gender identity will hurt their career advancement, 40% of transgender employees said they experienced workplace harassment, and only about 20% of harassment victims filed complaints. The report also says one in four employers refuses in advance to hire transgender people.
Among the 24 winners, Natural Intelligence, Playtika, Sweet Security, BigID, Imperva, Thales and Optibus received the top platinum designation. Kaltura, NICE, HP Indigo, AppsFlyer, the Histadrut, NetApp, Axonius and Lightricks were awarded gold. Philips Medical, Tidhar Group and Clal Insurance and Finance received silver, while Assuta, the Herzog law firm and Phoenix were given bronze.
The report also highlighted employer practices. It said 95.8% of the winning companies grant full rights to the non-birthing parent, more than 91% have a formal procedure for supporting employees through gender transition, and two-thirds now maintain LGBTQ employee groups. In addition, 23 of the 24 companies appointed a person responsible for LGBTQ or DEI matters. LGBTWORK CEO Shiri Yerushalmi said the organization is feeling the impact of U.S. pressure to scale back DEI programs, but said Israeli employers are showing “courageous local leadership” and should help others follow their example.
