Hachette Book Group - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Hachette Book Group is High Risk.

Hachette Book Group is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	High Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled 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:

High

Rationale:

An editorial director at Hachette, who had been achieving significant success in publishing conservative literature, was dismissed, a move she and others believe was motivated by her political beliefs. Around the same time, Hachette imposed restrictions on the political content that employees could publish following the events of January 6, 2021 (1). Hachette Book Group received a score of 90 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (2)(3). Hachette requires its suppliers abide by its environmental standards, including a commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030 (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Hachette’s charitable giving guidelines state that organizations that have “discriminatory practices” are not eligible for the employee matching program (1). Therefore, it is likely that religious organizations would not be eligible for charitable giving.

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Hachette’s HRC 2025 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). The company requires its employees to take allyship and DEI training (3). Hachette appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment, hiring and leadership composition. From its Changing the Story Web Page: “While diversity at HBG grew slightly overall, at the VP, Director, and Manager levels it decreased by 1%. The HR team is hiring a recruitment manager who will focus on recruitment in communities with diverse representation to help us attract diverse candidates at all levels, with particular focus on senior hires” (4). The company operates a supplier diversity program. “As a leading book publisher, we believe in the importance of creating positive economic impact in the communities we serve. HBG is committed to supporting and working with diverse businesses and suppliers across gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, veteran, and disability status” (5). Hachette protects its employees against viewpoint discrimination (6).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Hachette’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company agrees to allow a controversial stakeholder group focused on sexual identity issues to dictate marketing or advertising strategy. By doing so, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). The company supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Director (3). Hachette supports DEI within its business practices. From its Changing the Story Web Page: “We are committed to working together and with all our partners to foster diversity and a culture of inclusion, so that HBG can provide a truly welcoming and fulfilling environment for all employees and publish books that appeal to all readers” (4). The company provides a list of books banned in some public schools for inappropriate topics, including LGBT ideas (5). Little, Brown Company, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, features a page on the Hachette website supporting the Black Lives Matter movement (6). The CEO of Hachette UK made comments supporting and emphasizing the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement (7). Hachette has also published and sold multiple books that discuss leftist causes, including books targeted at children that promote drag culture and the Black Lives Matter movement (8)(9). The company uses its website to celebrate LGBTQ Pride month and highlight books with LGBTQ themes, especially books written for children (10)(11).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Hachette’s HRC 2025 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. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). The company was a corporate partner of the LGBT organization Lambda Literary (3). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Hachette using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Hachette’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company publicly advocated for controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). Hachette does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (3)(4)(5).