Affirm

CFO of Affirm Michael Linford has stated that “any merchant [that] isn’t aligned to our values, any partners unaligned to our values, we don’t do business with them” (1). Affirm also cut ties with MyPillow, after its CEO, Mike Lindell, claimed that election fraud may have played a part in the outcome of the 2020 election (2).

Affirm’s charitable giving guidelines require that organizations abide by its nondiscrimination policy, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, thereby excluding some religious charities (1).

Affirm appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its hiring, promotions, and mentorship program. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Our strategy involves embedding DEI into our processes, programs, and structures at Affirm across the employee life cycle—how we hire, develop, advance, and retain Affirmers, and in how we do business” (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition: “As part of the search process for new directors, the Nominating and Governance Committee shall actively seek to identify candidates who reflect diverse backgrounds, including diversity of race, ethnicity and gender” (2). The company implements unconscious bias training (3). Affirm does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4).

Affirm opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (1). The company was part of the Freedom for All Americans coalition, which advocated for federal legislation that would overrule state laws designed to protect girls’ sports and similar laws (2). Affirm opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (3). The company opposed legislation in Iowa intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (4). Affirm signed an amicus brief in opposition to the 2016 North Carolina bathroom bill HB2, which required people to use the bathroom of their biological sex (5). The company supports DEI within its business practices, hosting a Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee (DISC) (6). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page: “Our strategy involves embedding DEI into all processes, programs, and structures at Affirm across the entire employee life cycle—how we hire, develop, advance, and retain Affirmers, and in how we do business” (7). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) considerations are important to how we do business, from how we develop products and services and promote financial inclusion and socioeconomic empowerment for our consumers, to the way we support employees and give back to our communities” (8).

In 2020, Affirm Cares donated 100,000 to Equal Justice Initiative (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (2)(3).

Affirm has not used its PAC donations or lobbied for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).