Marriott International

Starwood Hotels, Sheraton, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Westin, Le Méridien, Aloft
Maryland
Consumer Services

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Danger
High Risk

Marriott International fired a social media manager who liked a tweet mentioning Taiwan and China as separate entities. The company vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination. Marriott covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care" for its employees and their children. It has funded Planned Parenthood and multiple LGBTQ organizations. Marriott is a signatory of the Business Roundtable's 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism. Marriott frequently involves itself in politics, supporting the Equality Act, opposing RFRAs, and opposing Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill. For these reasons, Marriott International 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

Marriott fired a social media manager for using the company’s Twitter to like a tweet thanking Marriott for recognizing Tibet and Taiwan as separate entities from China. Marriott allegedly fired the employee in order to smooth over business relationships in China (1)(2). Marriott received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index. Among other requirements, this means the company has a written policy pledging to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies (3)(4).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Marriott will not match employee donations to churches or religious organizations (1).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Marriott 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

Marriot is a member of the Business Coalition for the Equality Act (1). The company opposed both the 2014 Arizona Religious Freedom Restoration Act (religious freedom bill) and a similar bill in Georgia in 2015 (2)(3). Marriott signed an open letter opposing a bill in Florida that would prevent the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to kids in K-3rd grade (4). CEO Anthony Capuano is a member of the Business Roundtable and Former CEO Arne Sorenson signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders and customers (5)(6).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Marriott 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). Marriott corporately donated to Planned Parenthood (3). The company pledged support to Black Lives Matter and related causes (4)(5)(6). Marriott is a copper sponsor of Out & Equal and a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (7)(8).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Marriott donates to the Equality PAC and has lobbied for the Equality Act (1)(2).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
November 15, 2023

Company reports are intended for educational use only. Full Disclaimer

Voting History

Date
ESG Category
Proponent
Summary of ResolutionMgmt RecTotal Vote % in Favor
5/12/23SocialMyra K. YoungPay Equity DisclosureAgainst23.10%
5/12/23SocialThe National Center for Public Policy ResearchCongruency Report of Partnerships with Globalist OrganizationsAgainst1.40%
5/6/22SocialMyra K. YoungReport on Costs of Low Wages and Inequality and Impact on Diversified ShareholdersAgainst9.62%
Generate Reports
Clear
Toast

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.

Accept