Mastercard
Corprate Bias Ratings
Risk Level:
Summary:
Mastercard publicly terminated business relationships due to political views with The David Horowitz Freedom Center after the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) accused them of being a hate group. Mastercard is part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which demonetizes groups in efforts to suppress content and advertisements that have received allegations of "hate speech." Mastercard vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination. The company covers travel costs for employee abortions, indirectly donates to Planned Parenthood, and covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care" for its employees and their children. Mastercard is a corporate partner of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a founding member of the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality (PGLE), and pledged over $5 million to BLM and related causes. The company supports and funds LGBTQ causes and organizations. Mastercard is a signatory of the Business Roundtable's 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism. For these reasons, Mastercard receives a High Risk rating.
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.
Mastercard publicly terminated business relationships due to political views with The David Horowitz Freedom Center after the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) accused them of being a hate group (1)(2). The company received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the HRC. Among other requirements, this means Mastercard has pledged to vet vendors based on LGBTQ policies (3)(4). Mastercard is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which aims to demonetize advertisements and suppress content that “vilifies” individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, discusses “debated social issues in a negative or partisan context” or spreads “hate speech” (5)(6)(7).
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
Mastercard will match employee donations to religious organizations that engage in community work under a separate 501(c)(3) status (1).
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
Mastercard does not protect its employees from viewpoint discrimination (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
Mastercard’s PGLE membership reflects its commitment to “operationalize” company coverage of transgender surgery and treatment, the vetting of business partners based on LGBTQ+ policies, and the financial support of LGBTQ organizations on a global level (1)(2)(3). The company 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 (4)(5). Mastercard has weaponized its corporate image and attempted to leverage support for the Equality Act and opposition to the Georgia voting reform law (6)(7). Mastercard utilizes a new product code for legal firearms, allowing for the potential tracking of legal gun purchases (8). CEO Michael Miebach is a member of the Business Roundtable and Former CEO Ajay Banga signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders and customers (9)(10).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
Mastercard covers employee travel and lodging for out-of-state abortions and indirectly donates to Planned Parenthood through employee gift matching (1)(2). The company is a silver partner of the HRC and a founding member of the PGLE (3)(4). Mastercard is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (5)(6)(7). The company pledged over $5 million to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes, including the National Urban League (8)(9). Mastercard is a corporate partner of the HRC and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (10)(11).
Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.
Mastercard has contributed to the Equality PAC (1).
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
September 26, 2023
Company reports are intended for educational use only. Full Disclaimer