[ad_1]
Most of the companies that signed the letters were midsize tech and consumer brands trying to attract younger customers and workers, said Jen Stark, senior director of corporate strategy at the Tara Health Foundation, which Engage the private sector in reproductive rights and help organize these letters. The biggest tech companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft — remain silent. “Extremely quiet,” Stark said.
Wired contacted 16 tech companies with large workforces in Texas about the law and its impact on workers. Alphabet, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Dropbox, eBay, Indeed, Meta, Oracle, PayPal, Samsung, SpaceX and Tesla did not respond. Intel and Microsoft declined to comment. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has not yet taken a position on the law, but the company said, “We encourage our team members to express their voices through advocacy and at the ballot box.” The company said its medical plan covers out-of-state medical services, including abortion.
“We’re not asking companies to weigh when life begins,” Stark said. “We’re simply asking companies to understand abortion as a workforce issue that affects worker well-being and the realization of an individual’s full potential, and see how it connects to issues of equity around gender and race.” Tara Health is asking companies to stop donating to politicians who oppose choice, and Review their benefits to mitigate the impact of abortion restrictions on their workforce.
While most Americans believe abortion should be legal, a significant minority believe otherwise.according to Pew Research, 39% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in most or all situations, including 37% of women. It’s a large group, including customers, shareholders and employees, “who are going to be very, very angry with you because of your position,” said Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communications at Dartmouth University who has written a Article. article Titled “When should your company speak out on social issues?”
But as a lot of LGBTQ corporate activism shows, companies do sometimes speak up, even if it drives people crazy. 2020 George Washington University learn of Fortune 500 companies cite one reason: pressure from employee resource groups. In the highly educated workforce, LGBTQ workers persuade companies to take a stand on their rights, even though it can be costly for businesses, researchers have found.
Shelley Alpern, director of corporate engagement at investment firm Rhia Ventures, said years ago the company was reluctant to speak out on LGBTQ issues, and the firm filed shareholder resolutions supporting reproductive rights. “Part of what got them out of this taboo was that their employees started speaking out through LGBTQ affinity groups,” she said. “It had a huge impact because I think business managers realized it wasn’t an abstract issue. It had real implications for employees.”
Employee mobilization around abortion rights has yet to reach that level. Reputation consultant John DeRoe said his client made no mention of organizing workplaces around the issue. “As far as I know, I work with a lot of big companies and there is no such group,” he said. “I’m sure they’re forming now.”
They are, says Deena Fidas, managing director of the LGBTQ workplace equality nonprofit Out and Equal. Fidas is trying to apply the experience of LGBTQ workplace organizations to reproductive health. She said the LGBTQ pressure movement had been in the works for decades, and at the time these workers lacked legal protections against employment discrimination. Now, Fidas is partnering with Tara Health and other organizations to convene resource groups for women employees to help them advocate for access to reproductive health care. She said employees are starting to raise the issue as something their employers should weigh. “Change is definitely on the way.”
[ad_2]
Source link
