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March 28, 2024

Companies have more than a month to formulate a response to the U.S. ending federal abortion rights if they don’t weigh in immediately after a draft opinion leaked in May.

But when the final decision arrived on Friday in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case, relatively few had anything to say about the outcome.

Most remained silent, including some companies known for speaking out on social issues such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ rights. So far, some of the companies that blacked out their Instagram pages in 2020 or displayed a rainbow flag on their sites for Pride month have been reluctant to comment on abortion.

“Executives are a little nervous about this,” said Dave Fleet, head of global digital crises at consulting firm Edelman. “They’re worried about backlash because they know there’s no way to please everyone.”

Many of the businesses that did make public statements Friday opted to address the Supreme Court’s decision that will affect how their workers receive health care. In some cases, they avoided the word “abortion” altogether, perhaps for a more palatable response.

“We have processes in place so that employees who may not be able to receive care at one location can afford to receive a similar level of care at another location,” Disney executives wrote in a memo to employees, adding that this includes ” Family planning (including decisions related to pregnancy).”

Other companies that came forward Friday to say they would pay for employee travel for abortions include Warner Bros., Condé Nast, BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Goldman Sachs, Snap, Macy’s, Intuit and Dick’s Sporting Goods. They join a team that includes Starbucks, Tesla, Yelp, Airbnb, Netflix, Patagonia, DoorDash, JPMorgan, Levi Strauss & Co., PayPal, OKCupid, Citigroup, Kroger, Google, Microsoft, Paramount, Nike , Chobani, Lyft and Reddit. Similar policies have been implemented before. (Google also told employees that they could “apply to relocate without reason.”)

“Employers are the gateway to the health care system for a lot of people,” Mr Fleet added. “You see companies looking inward first.”

Several companies issued statements alongside these policy changes. Roger Lynch, the head of Condé Nast, called the decision a “heavy blow to reproductive rights”. Lyft said the ruling “will hurt millions of women.” Jonah Peretti, chief executive of BuzzFeed, called it “backward and scary.” A number of business leaders also spoke, with Microsoft co-founder and former head Bill Gates calling the ruling an “unjust and unacceptable setback” and outgoing Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg. It “threatens to offset the progress women have made in the workplace,” wrote the publication.

But many companies that have spoken out on social issues such as racism did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment after the Supreme Court ruling, including Target, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Delta and Wendy’s. Hobby Lobby successfully filed a Supreme Court case in 2014 challenging whether employer-provided health care must include birth control, but declined to comment on Dobbs’ decision.

In recent years, companies have been increasingly expected to engage in political and social issues. The percentage of online U.S. adults who believe companies have a responsibility to engage in debates about current issues has risen over the past year, according to consumer research firm Forrester.This expectation is more pronounced among younger social media users, according to a study sprout society.

When George Floyd was killed by police in 2020, public companies and their foundations pledged more than $49 billion to end racial inequality. Last year, after some CEOs, including Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, criticized the law after Georgia’s Republican-led legislature restricted voter access, 72 black business leaders issued a letter urging business leaders “Openly oppose any discriminatory legislation.”

When it comes to abortion, public opinion is slightly different: Forrester found that fewer respondents believe companies should take a stance on abortion.Polls have consistently found that a majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, but a recent survey The Pew Research Center found that people have broad views on ethical issues. Companies are concerned that taking a stand on the issue could spark a backlash.

“When it comes to a range of politicized issues within a brand’s sphere of influence, few are as divisive and deeply personal as abortion,” said Mike Proulx, Forrester’s vice president and research director.

Political engagement is rarely an immediate option for company leaders. Disney, which has long avoided partisan politics, faced an internal backlash this year for not taking a hard line on Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” law, but then Florida lawmakers rescinded its special tax benefit. John Gibson, chief executive of gaming company Tripwire Interactive, was swiftly replaced after publicly supporting Texas’ ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

2020 study Among 149 companies published in the Marketing Journal, it was found that corporate activism had a negative impact on a company’s stock market performance, but had a positive impact on sales if activism was aligned with the company’s consumer values.

There is a price to be paid for both participation and the decision not to participate.

“You have to be careful not to learn the wrong lessons from these moments,” Edelman’s Mr Fleet said. “It’s very easy to see companies making mistakes and say, ‘Well, we shouldn’t say anything,’ when in fact some customers are making mistakes by not saying anything.”

Some companies on Friday warned employees to be careful about how they discuss the ruling in the workplace. “This decision will be vigorously debated by the public,” Citigroup’s head of human resources wrote to employees. “Remember that even if we disagree, we must always respect each other.”

Meta said publicly on Friday that it would reimburse employees for travel expenses for abortions. But the company then told its employees not to publicly discuss the court’s ruling on broad communication channels within the company, citing a policy that “creates strong guardrails around social, political and sensitive conversations” in the workplace, according to three employees.

But there are other companies that haven’t shied away from more drastic statements about abortion, and they’re urging other businesses to match their tone and commitment.

OkCupid sent notifications to app users in states that restrict abortion, encouraging them to contact elected officials in support of abortion. Its global chief marketing officer, Melissa Hobley, has been working behind the scenes to get other female business leaders to make pro-abortion commitments.

“We had to say take risks,” she said. “It’s an economic issue, it’s a marketing issue. If you’re in a high-profile, competitive industry like tech, law, finance, you’re all fighting for female talent.”

Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s chief executive, said he believed abortion access had to be talked about publicly, whether there was a business case or not, even though he knew there would be users who would object to the decision.

“Of course, when you have opinions on these issues, not everyone will agree,” he said. “When we saw this, we felt very strongly that it was the right thing to do,” adding, “It’s been a set law for 50 years.”

Some business leaders said they were concerned about how abortion restrictions would affect their ability to recruit workers, especially those with companies based in 13 states that would ban abortions immediately or soon after Roy was overturned. Those states include Texas, where tech companies have flocked to in recent years.

Research entrust The Tara Health Foundation found that two-thirds of college-educated workers surveyed would be reluctant to work in Texas because of Texas’ restrictive abortion laws, and would not pass similar laws elsewhere. state to apply for a job.

“Employers like us are probably the last line of defense,” said Sarah Jackel, chief operating officer of Civitech, a 55-person Texas-based company that develops technology tools for political campaigns . The company pledged to pay for travel expenses for employees who need abortions as soon as Texas’ SB 8 ban passes.

Ms. Jekel said the policy had strong support from employees and investors, but the company declined to say if anyone had used it.

“It makes good business sense,” she added. “We see no reason why our employees have to choose between keeping their jobs or getting pregnant unexpectedly.”

Emily Fleet, Lauren Hirsch, Mike Isaac, Kate Kelly, Ryan Mack, Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson Contribution report.



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