Lyft

California
Transportation

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Danger
High Risk

Lyft scored a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI). By complying with the HRC’s controversial demands, Lyft increases the risk of dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. The company covers transgender-related medical costs for its employees and their children and provides specific sexual orientation and gender identity-based benefits. It also uses sex and gender ideology criteria in employee recruitment, vendor selection, marketing, and philanthropic support. Lyft forces employees to undergo multiple ideological trainings and uses its reputation, corporate funds, and political influence to support controversial sex and gender ideologies, organizations, and legislation. Lyft provides a benefits package for employees which covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children. The company donates millions of dollars to ideological groups like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Planned Parenthood. America First Legal filed a letter with the EEOC requesting a civil rights investigation into Lyft over discriminatory practices in hiring. The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees. Lyft opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces. The company is a member of the "Don't Ban Equality" coalition. Lyft denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security. The company co-signed a letter to law firms demanding an improvement in diversity in order to retain business with the company. For these reasons, Lyft receives a High 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

Lyft received a score of 100 on the 2023 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, Lyft 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

Lyft’s HRC CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). Lyft does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving (3)(4).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Lyft’s HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company forces employees to attend multiple, controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology. The company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). Lyft does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3). America First Legal filed a letter with the EEOC requesting a civil rights investigation into Lyft over discriminatory practices in hiring (4)(5).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Lyft’s HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company agrees to allow a controversial stakeholder group focused on sexual identity issues to dictate marketing or advertising strategy (1)(2). By doing so, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Lyft led a group of companies openly opposing the Texas bill restricting abortions after a heartbeat is detected (3). Lyft is a member of the Business Coalition for the Equality Act (4) The company opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (5). Lyft published an article on LGBTQ inclusivity and an expansive list of gender terms (6). Lyft partnered with the SPLC in an attempt to “protect drivers from white supremacists” and opposed the Georgia voting integrity bill (7)(8). Lyft opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (9). Lyft’s CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer are signatories to CEOs For Gun Safety (10). The company is a member of the “Don’t Ban Equality” business coalition, which advocates against any abortion restrictions because they are “bad for business” (11). Lyft denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security (12). The company co-signed a letter to law firms demanding an improvement in diversity in order to retain business with the company (13).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Lyft provides a benefits package for employees which covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children (1)(2)(3). The company’s HRC 2023 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. Additionally, the company has pledged philanthropic support of at least one organization or event that promotes sex and gender ideology (4)(5). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. America First Legal opened a civil rights investigation against the company for violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 by covering abortion costs but not maternity leave for mothers who choose life (6)(7)(8)(9). Lyft is a Platinum Partner of the HRC, has donated to Planned Parenthood, and raised $2 million to support the ACLU (10)(11)(12)(13). Lyft pledged $500,000 to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes (14)(15). Since 2017, Lyft has encouraged its riders to round up their fare to the nearest dollar to donate to the Human Rights Campaign. This initiative has raised more than $4.5M to support HRC’s programming. The company has also recently partnered with the HRC to provide free transportation to transgender people to “tackle the systemic racial barriers to care and prioritize trans communities of color” (16)(17).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Lyft’s HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company publicly advocated for controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives (1)(2). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Lyft donated to the Equality PAC but lobbies in a manner consistent with its business interests (3)(4).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 18, 2024

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