Why Roe v. Wade’s demise – unlike gay rights or Ukraine – isn’t getting corporate America to speak up
Corporate America – once known for carefully avoiding public stances on hot button issues – has, in recent years, become increasingly outspoken on a host of thorny topics, from gay rights to the war in Ukraine. That makes its relative silence in the face of the end of federal abortion rights all the more deafening.
Over two-thirds of companies in the Fortune 500 are publicly committed to supporting LGBTQ rights, and many were early backers of marriage equality before the public embraced it. In the weeks after Vladimir Putin sent his armies into Ukraine, hundreds of companies suspended or ceased operations in Russia in an unprecedented reaction to geopolitical aggression. And in the aftermath of the passage of a 2021 Georgia law seen as curtailing voting rights, dozens of companies spoke forcefully against the legislation.
But so far, only three dozen or so companies have taken a public stance on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, mostly to declare their support for workers seeking an abortion. While a few openly criticized the Supreme Court’s June 24, 2022, decision, the vast majority did not.