Paramount Skydance Corporation

In 2024, Katherine Merrill Dunham, an anchor for CBS affiliate WBZ-TV, “claims she was demoted from her job because she is a white woman — and alleged she fell victim to a ‘DEI agenda’”, and resigned shortly afterwards (1)(2). Paramount received a score of 100 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 (3)(4). In August 2025, Paramount completed a merger with Skydance, resulting in the formation of Paramount Skydance Corporation (5).

Paramount‘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).

Paramount‘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 implemented unconscious bias workshops for its employees and inclusive leadership training for senior executives (3). The company had a history of discriminatory hiring practices. In July 2024, America First Legal filed a letter with the EEOC requesting a civil rights investigation into CBS, a subsidiary of Paramount, over discriminatory practices in firing. In January 2025, America First Legal filed a lawsuit against CBS and Paramount Global for allegedly violating California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). AFL claims CBS unlawfully discriminated against a Navy combat veteran because of his race, sex, and military service status (4)(5)(6)(7). However, in February 2025, the company pledged to no longer discriminate based on race/sex in hiring and ended its policy of collecting demographic stats for US job applicants on forms and career pages, except where legally required (8)(9). In February 2025, the company also started removing mentions of DEI from its website, and it pledged to stop using DEI quotas in hiring (10). It does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (11).

Paramount’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). As ViacomCBS, Paramount Global denounced state election integrity efforts to reform their own election processes after the pandemic (3). CBS announced a new reality tv show called “The Activist,” where activists will “compete in missions, media stunts, digital campaigns and community events” (4)(5). Another affiliate, Nickelodeon, has added pro-LGBTQ messaging to many of its kids’ shows (6)(7). ViacomCBS noted that they would “monitor” a 2019 fetal heartbeat law in Georgia and considered moving production from the state (8). The company opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (9). Its former CEO, Robert Bakish, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (10)(11). The company stated that they wanted to be seen as a “trans-inclusive employer” (12). Paramount Pictures, a flagship brand of Paramount Global, participated in the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Transgender Economic Empowerment Project annual job fair (13). Paramount brands developed Culture Code, a program intended to “identify and mitigate bias of all kinds”. The program is available for all staff, talent, and production partners. “It was developed in partnership with The Museum of Tolerance, Color of Change, CAPE, GLAAD, RAINN, MPAC, NALIP, the Anti-Defamation League, RespectAbility, and The Jed Foundation.” (14). Paramount has been a “GLAAD #Spirit Day” participant for years (15). Paramount “launched “Queer to Stay: An LGBTQ+ Business Preservation Initiative” to support and preserve businesses serving the LGBTQ+ community, with a focus on LGBTQ+ people of color, women and the transgender community.” (16). Paramount’s content has been honored by GLAAD, an LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, on numerous occasions (17).

Paramount, a Skydance Corporation provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children (1)(2)(3)(4). Paramount‘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 (5)(6). ViacomCBS, now Paramount, was a Bronze Tier corporate sponsor of the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for controversial sex and gender ideology, including “gender transition” drugs and surgeries for minors, through legislation, litigation, advertising, and PR campaigns. The organization also hosts online chatrooms that allow adults to communicate with minors as young as 13 about sexually explicit topics. Adults in these chatrooms have encouraged minors to adopt transgender identities and withhold this information from their parents (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). In 2020, ViacomCBS donated $5 million to several different social justice organizations, including Amnesty International and National Bail Out (12). Paramount and ViacomCBS are corporate partners of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (13). Paramount Global collaborated with the HRC on the Queer to Stay Initiative, distributing $1 million in funds to over 100 LGBTQ+-owned businesses (14)(15). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (16).

Paramount‘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 donated to the Equality PAC and does not engage in lobbying at this time (3)(4)(5).