Western Union - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Western Union is High Risk.

Western Union is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. Western Union 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	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Western Union 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. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3)(4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Western Union’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).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Western Union’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees (1)(2). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Western Union’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 is a partner of the Coalition for the American Dream, which has signed an amicus brief in favor of protecting DACA and other immigration legislation (3)(4). Western Union’s CEO is a member of the Business Roundtable and its former CEO signed the 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders (5)(6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Western Union’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 uses corporate funds to donate to ideological organizations, including Race Forward and Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado (3)(4)(5). Western Union sponsors many LGBTQ events and organizations, including Denver’s Virtual Pride Parade and Micro Rainbow, a nonprofit that provides asylum to LGBT individuals (6). The company is a member of the MCCA, indicating its focus on recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees based on race (7)(8). Western Union is a corporate partner of Ashoka, a global network of entrepreneurs focused on widespread, systemic social and environmental change (9). The company donated $200 to the SPLC, a controversial organization that claims to combat extremism while labeling mainstream political and religious views as “hateful.” The SPLC has faced a number of controversies over the years, including its April 2026 indictment by a federal grand jury for wire fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and money laundering connected to its alleged funneling of more than $3 million to individuals associated with various violent extremist groups (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Western Union using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (15).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Western Union’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 does not operate a PAC at this time but has not lobbied for ideological purposes (3)(4)(5).