Bread Financial

Ohio
Diversified Financials

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Caution
Medium Risk

Bread Financial, formerly Alliance Data Systems, is a credit card services provider. Bread Financial vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination, but has not publicly terminated business relationships based on views or beliefs. The company covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children. Bread Financial has advocated for the Equality Act and teaches kids about gender fluidity. The company discriminates against some religious organizations in its charitable giving. However, it has not used its PAC contributions for ideological purposes. For these reasons, Bread Financial receives a Medium Risk rating.

Criteria
Risk Level
Rationale
Corporate Weaponization
Criteria

Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level
Rationale

Under its former name Alliance Data Systems, Bread Financial received a score of 90 on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign (1)(2). Among other requirements, this means the company has pledged to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies. However, Bread Financial has not publicly fired customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs.

Criteria

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level
Rationale

Bread Financial’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. Additionally, Bread Financial does not allow matching donations to religious groups, except for the non-sectarian aspects of those organizations (1).

Criteria

Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.

Risk Level
Rationale

Bread Financial does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Criteria

Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

Listed as Alliance Data Systems, Bread Financial is a member of the Business Coalition for the Equality Act (1). Bread Financial also ascribes to ESG goals and governance (2). Bread Financial’s predecessor, Alliance Data, has partnered with LGBTQ Youth Centers to teach children about theories of gender fluidity and sexuality using “The Gender Unicorn” (3). Bread Financial is a signatory of the Count Us In Coalition, a part of the Human Rights Campaign (4)(5). Bread Financial donated to The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees program (6)(7) Bread Financial is a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index  (8). Bread Financial celebrates Pride Month and its PRIDE ERG (9)(10)(11)(12).

Criteria

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

Bread Financial has a perfect score on the HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates the company covers the cost of “medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children (1)(2). In 2013, Alliance Data agreed to partner with CREDO, an explicitly ideological long-distance phone services provider that has donated upwards of $75 million to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and hundreds of other left-wing organizations (3).

Criteria

Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level
Rationale

Bread Financial (Alliance Data Systems) does not use its PAC donations for ideological purposes (1).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
September 8, 2023

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