Barnes & Noble
Corporate Bias Rating
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Risk Level:
Summary:
Barnes & Noble is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Barnes & Noble occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.
View Full Corporate Bias Ratings ReportHas canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.
Barnes & Noble received a score of 55 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3).
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
Barnes & Noble’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). The company’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 (3).
Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.
Barnes & Noble does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees. The company is an affirmative action employer (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
Barnes and Noble has not supported ideological causes or policies (1).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
Barnes & Noble’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (3).
Board Bias
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1792 Exchange has not yet compiled data about the board of directors or political contributions of leadership for this company.