The Hershey Company (Hershey’s)
Corprate Bias Ratings
Risk Level:
Summary:
The Hershey Company has allegedly terminated employees due to their vaccination status, though there are no other cases of the company terminating business relationships due to political or religious differences. The company vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies and is part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. It does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination. Hershey's received criticism for featuring a transgender as part of its celebration of International Women's Day. Hershey's is a corporate partner of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and supports the Equality Act. It also covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care" for its employees and their children. For these reasons, The Hershey Company 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.
In February 2022, the Hershey Company allegedly fired employees that were unvaccinated against COVID-19 (1). The Hershey 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” (2)(3)(4). The company received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. Among other requirements, this means the company has pledged to vet vendors based on LGBTQ policies (5)(6).
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
The Hershey Company will not donate to “churches or religious organizations, including seminaries, Bible colleges, and theological institutions.” However, regarding donations to religious charities, the company notes “charitable requests that serve to further a larger general charitable purpose would be considered eligible” (1). Hershey matches employee donations to all charities and does not discriminate against faith-based charities (2)(3).
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
The Hershey Company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
The Hershey Company advocates for the Equality Act (1). The company also requires all employees to take unconscious bias trainings two times per year (2). On International Women’s Day, Hershey’s featured a trans woman in its promotion, drawing criticism (3). It has also posted blog posts on its website in support of LGBT causes (4).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
The Hershey 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 (1)(2). The Hershey Company is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media and a bronze partner of the HRC (3)(4)(5)(6). Hershey has also pledged $250,000 to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes (7)(8). The company is also a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (9).
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
September 30, 2023
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