Ralph Lauren

New York
Consumer Durables and Apparel

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Caution
Medium Risk

By complying with Human Rights Campaign’s controversial demands, Ralph Lauren increases the risk of dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. The company covers transgender-related medical costs for its employees and their children. It also uses sex and gender ideology criteria in philanthropic support. Ralph Lauren uses its corporate funds, to support controversial sex and gender ideologies and organizations. The company 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. Ralph Lauren vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and is part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees but has not publicly terminated business relationships based on views or beliefs. Ralph Lauren supports the Equality Act. The company opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces. However, Ralph Lauren has not publicly terminated business relationships based on views or beliefs. For these reasons, Ralph Lauren 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

Ralph Lauren has a written policy pledging to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies. It requires vendors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in its nondiscrimination policy (1)(2). The company 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” without appropriately defining the latter term (3)(4)(5). However, Ralph Lauren 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

According to Ralph Lauren’s sustainability reports, the company does not discriminate against faith-based charities in its giving (1).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Ralph Lauren 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

Ralph Lauren was part of the Freedom for All Americans coalition, which advocated for federal legislation that would overrule state laws designed to protect girls’ sports and similar laws (1). The company denounced a North Carolina bill stating that people must use public restrooms that correspond to biological sex (2). Ralph Lauren used Instagram to publicly criticize the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (3). Ralph Lauren is a member of the Civic Alliance, which has used its collective corporate platform to oppose election security bills nationwide (4). Darren Walker, a board member at Ralph Lauren, publicly opposed the election security bill put forth in Georgia in 2021 (5). Ralph Lauren is part of the Business Coalition for the Equality Act (6). CEO Patrice Louvet is a member of the Business Roundtable (7). The company opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (8).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Ralph Lauren 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)(4)(5)(6). 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 (7)(8). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Ralph Lauren is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (9)(10)(11).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
N/A
Rationale

Ralph Lauren does not operate a PAC at this time.

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 12, 2024

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