Companies had more than a month to formulate a response to the end of federal abortion rights in the United States if they didn't weigh in immediately after a draft opinion was leaked.
Few people had anything to say about the final decision in the case.
Some companies that speak out on social issues such as Black Lives Matter and L.G.B.T.Q. remained silent. Some of the corporations that blacked out their social media pages in 2020 or featured rainbow flags on their websites for Pride Month have not commented on abortion.
Dave Fleet, the head of global digital crisis at Edelman, said that executives are feeling some apprehension. There is no way to please everyone.
Many of the businesses that made public statements on Friday addressed how the Supreme Court's decision would affect their workers' access to health care. They didn't use the word "abortion" in many cases.
Disney executives wrote in a memo to staff that they have processes in place so that an employee who may be unable to access care in one location has affordable coverage for it.
Warner Bros., Condé Nast, and other companies have said they will cover employee travel expenses for abortions. They joined a group of other companies that had already implemented it.
A lot of people access health care through their employer. Companies are looking inward first.
Some companies made statements about the policy changes. The head of Condé Nast called the decision a blow to reproductive rights. The ruling will hurt a lot of women. It was called "regressive andhorrible" by the chief executive of the website. Bill Gates, the co- founder and former head of Microsoft, and the former chief operating officer of Meta wrote that the ruling threatens to undermine the progress women have made in the workplace.
Target, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Delta and Wendy's did not respond to requests for comment after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of affirmative action. The company that brought the suit to the Supreme Court about contraceptive coverage refused to comment on the decision.
Companies are expected to weigh in on political and social issues According to Forrester, the share of online American adults who believe that companies have a responsibility to participate in debates has risen in the past year. The expectation is higher among younger social media users.
In the year of George Floyd's death, public companies and their foundations committed over $48 billion to fight racial inequality. Last year, after Georgia's Republican-led legislature restricted voter access, some chief executives, including from Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, criticized the law and 72 Black business leaders published a letter urging corporate leaders to oppose any discrimination.
Forrester found that fewer people thought companies should support abortion. The majority of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but a recent survey shows that people have different opinions about morality on the issue. Taking a stance on the issue could lead to backlash.
"When it comes to the range of politicized issues within the sphere of a brand's impact, few are as divisive and personal as abortion" said Mike Proulx, a vice president and research director at Forrester.
It is not easy for company leaders to choose political engagement. Disney, which had avoided partisan politics, faced internal backlash this year when it didn't take a strong stance on Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. The chief executive of the gaming company was replaced after he spoke out in favor of the Texas ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
A 2020 study of 149 firms published in the Journal of Marketing found that corporate activism had a negative effect on a company's stock market performance, though it found a positive effect on sales if the activism was in line with the company's values.
It can come at a price.
Mr. Fleet said not to take the wrong lessons from those moments. It would be easy to say "well, we shouldn't say anything" when a company makes a mistake, but not when a client doesn't say anything.
Staff were warned on Friday to be careful how they talk about the ruling. Citigroup's head of human resources wrote to staff that there would be a lot of debate over the decision. We must treat each other respectfully even when we disagree.
Employees will be reimbursed for travel expenses to get abortions. The company told its workers not to discuss the court's ruling on wide-reaching communication channels inside the company, according to three employees.
Other businesses are urged to match the tone and commitment of the companies that haven't shied away from more full- throated statements on abortion.
OkCupid encouraged app users in states with abortion restrictions to contact their elected officials in favor of abortion. The chief marketing officer of the company has been trying to get other women business leaders to support abortion.
She said that they had to tell them to screw the risk. This is an economic and marketing issue. If you are in a competitive industry like tech, law, finance, you are competing for female talent.
Jeremy Stoppelman, the chief executive of Yelp, said he felt that it was important to speak out about abortion access even if there was no business case for it.
Not everyone will agree with you on these issues. It has been 50 years since settled law was enacted, and we felt that it was the right thing to do.
Some business leaders are worried about how abortion restrictions will affect their ability to recruit workers in the 13 states that will ban abortion immediately or very quickly. Tech companies have moved to Texas in the past.
According to research commissioned by the Tara Health Foundation, two-thirds of college educated workers in Texas would not apply for jobs in other states with similar abortion laws.
Sarah Jackel is the COO of Civitech, a 55 person company based in Texas that builds technology tools for political campaigns. The company made a commitment to cover travel expenses for employees in need of an abortion after the Texas ban was passed.
Ms. Jackel said that the policy was supported by both employees and investors.
She said it made sense. Employees should not be forced to choose between keeping their job or having a baby.
Kate Kelly, Ryan Mac, Benjamin Mullin, Emily Flitter and others reported.
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