Mondelez International

Mondelez received a score of 80 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. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). The company was a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which demonetized and suppressed content that it deemed to spread “hate speech” or “misinformation”, discuss “debated social issues in a negative or partisan context”, or “vilif[y]” individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity. These arbitrary guidelines were used to censor mainstream perspectives online (3)(4)(5). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (6).

Mondelez’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). The company likely uses Benevity as its charitable giving platform. Benevity vets charities according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate List, which includes mainstream libertarian, conservative, family, and religious advocacy organizations (3)(4)(5).

Mondelez’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 a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its Corporate Governance Guidelines: “As part of the search process for each new director, the Governance Committee seeks out women and ethnically diverse candidates to include in the pool from which Board nominees are chosen with the ultimate decision on all Board nominations being based on the contribution that the selected nominees will bring to the Board” (3). Mondelez does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4).

Mondelez International signed an open letter endorsing the Equality Act, a contentious proposal to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding sexual orientation and so-called gender identity as protected categories. The legislation would, among other implications, grant biological men access to women-only spaces such as sports teams and public restrooms, and compel healthcare providers to deliver sex-denying healthcare (1). The company 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 (2). The company also denounced various state efforts to protect election integrity (3). Further, Mondelez International’s company Oreo published an extensive commercial in 2020 featuring the story of a same-sex couple and has advocated for transgender ideology (4)(5). The company opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (6). Oreo co-sponsored PFLAG’s 2023 National Convention in Washington, DC, which was themed “Learning with Love.” The convention opposed “education advocates” who have banned thousands of books from children’s libraries, most of which are sexually explicit (7). Mondelez opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (8). The company opposed legislation in Iowa intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (9). Mondelez’s EVP & President, Glen Walter, denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security (10). The company’s CEO, Dirk Van de Put, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (11)(12).

Mondelez’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. 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) (1). The company was a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (2)(3)(4). The company donated $500,000 to Black Lives Matter Global Network and the NAACP, prompting shareholders to request a racial equity audit (5)(6)(7)(8). Mondelez brand, Oreo, donated $500,000 to PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy organization (9). This donation prompted a shareholder proposal by The National Legal and Policy Center calling on Mondelez to examine the risks of Oreo’s associations with ideological groups like PFLAG. The proposal calls for Mondelez to release a public report by March 2025 (10). Oreo urges consumers to support the LGBTQ activist group PFLAG through a hyperlink on its Pride webpage. As part of a fundraiser for PFLAG, Nabisco created limited edition rainbow Oreo Cookies, hosting a donation pass-through to PFLAG from its website (11). Mondelez is a copper sponsor of Out & Equal and a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (12)(13). The company is a member of the MCCA, indicating its focus on recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees based on race (14)(15). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (16).

Mondelez’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). The company has not used its PAC donations or lobbying for ideological purposes (3)(4)(5).