Duke Energy scored a 100 on the 2023 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. By complying with the HRC’s controversial demands, Duke Energy increases the risk of dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. The company covers transgender-related medical costs for its employees and their children and provides specific sexual orientation and gender identity-based benefits. It also uses sex and gender ideology criteria in employee recruitment, vendor selection, marketing, and philanthropic support. Duke Energy forces employees to undergo multiple ideological trainings and uses its reputation, corporate funds, and political influence to support controversial sex and gender ideologies, organizations, and legislation. Duke Energy does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees. However, the company has not publicly terminated business relationships due to religious beliefs or political views. Duke Energy was a corporate sponsor of a "compromise bill" that would replace North Carolina's 2015 HB 2 "bathroom bill", and it supports the Equality Act. Duke Energy is a signatory of the Business Roundtable's 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism. The company's CEO signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, and it signed Orlando Economic Partnership's DEI pledge. Duke Energy has pledged over $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes. For these reasons, Duke Energy receives a High Risk rating.