• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

US companies break long silence on abortion rights

Towleroad May 8, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
AFP
513784 origin 1
Abortion rights actvists gather outside the US Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on May 3, 2022

New York (AFP) – After carefully avoiding the taboo topic for decades, more and more US companies are taking a stand on the right to abortion, a sign of a new generation with growing influence and very different expectations than their predecessors.

Mere hours after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion indicating the national right to abortion would be overturned, a variety of American businesses began to react publicly.

“Given what is at stake, business leaders need to make their voices heard and act to protect the health and well-being of our employees,” Levi Strauss said in a statement. “That means protecting reproductive rights.”

Like the iconic denim brand, Apple has also pledged to cover costs for employees who have to travel to another state to get an abortion.

Revoking the nationwide right to abortion “will jeopardize the human rights of millions of women,” the review platform Yelp told AFP, saying it would have “a seismic impact on our society and economy” and urging other companies to “step up to safeguard their employees.”

Since Texas in September implemented a law banning abortion after six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant, and with no exceptions for rape or incest — the stigma on speaking out has started to break.

Amazon, Uber and even the bank Citigroup have all announced they will cover the additional costs that the Texas legislation might cause for their employees.

“We’re in a very unusual political time where this issue’s come back up as a pressing political issue, and it will force companies to take a stand,” said Maurice Schweitzer, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school.

“Businesses that are located in states that might overturn (abortion access), they have to make a decision one way or the other: Are they going to offer that benefit in terms of travel to a location where those services could be accessed? Or are they not?” said Neeru Paharia, a professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

“It kind of forces a lot of these (companies) to take a stand on this issue.”

According to The New York Times, Tesla, which moved its headquarters from California to Texas, has also pledged to cover its employees’ abortion-related expenses.

‘New generational thing’

The newfound boldness of US businesses is also tied to the fact that “in this country, people who are pro-choice are larger in number than people who are anti-abortion,” said Paharia.

The announcements by several leading companies are part of a “general trend” that has been developing for the past decade and “picked up steam” under former US president Donald Trump, she said.

Immigration, LGBT rights, gun regulations, the Black Lives Matter movement, voting rights — hot-button issues keep coming up, in a climate of heightened polarization, and many companies have been pressured to respond by their employees.

“This is a new generational thing,” explained Mark Hass, a journalism and communication professor at Arizona State University. “The millennial generation, Gen Z are… increasingly concerned about who they work for, the values of those companies.”

“Companies like Apple, companies like Amazon, companies like Uber… rely on having the best employees,” he said. “So their employees are sort of their North Star,” or guiding force.

Paharia agreed: “It’s a tight labor market, and certain kinds of job skills are hard to come by.”

In a country where public confidence in elected officials has been eroding for many years, employees are also expecting more from their employers, she said.

Schweitzer made a distinction between the new economy’s flagship companies, whose employees are better educated than average and often able to work anywhere, and more traditional companies, which are sometimes located in more conservative regions of the United States.

The latter often have less mobile and less skilled workers, with a more limited influence on their employer.

“That’s going to be a big part of why tech companies, for example, are going to react more strongly to this than other companies who would rather stay out of it,” he said.

Unlike before, firms that have taken sides publicly have generally avoided backlash, calls for boycotts or smear campaigns.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio did introduce a bill Tuesday that would prevent companies from receiving tax breaks on expenses tied to covering abortion-related travel, but the bill is unlikely to pass.

However, “the groups that are interested in restricting abortion access, they’re a minority. And they seem to be winning on this issue right now,” said Schweitzer. “So I’m not surprised that they’re being a little bit quiet.”

Topics: Aaon, LGBT Rights, Supreme Court More Posts About: Donald Trump, Marco Rubio

Related Posts
  • Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’
  • U.S. commission recommends renaming nine Army bases to strip Confederate legacy
  • Factbox: Seven races to watch in Georgia, Alabama midterm primaries, Texas run-offs
  • Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Published by Reuters By Ruhi Soni (Reuters) -The Biden administration made a revised proposal on Wednesday to ban the disposal of mining waste in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, dealing a potential death blow to the contentious …Read More »
  • ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

    ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

    Published by The Charlotte Observer A bill from North Carolina Senate Republicans that regulates teaching about LGBTQ people is almost surely going to be blocked by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, if it gets that far. But …Read More »
  • Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

    Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

    Published by AFP Los Angeles (AFP) – For nearly two decades, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and its openly lesbian host have beamed into homes across America, busting stereotypes and charming daytime TV audiences with a feel-good …Read More »
  • New York City removes last public phone booth

    New York City removes last public phone booth

    Published by DPA A phone booth, redesigned by the artist Glenn Ligon, on a Manhattan street. The New York city administration began dismantling telephone booths in January 2021, and has been setting up free wi-fi kiosks …Read More »
Previous Post: « Putin to send ‘doomsday’ warning to West at Russia’s WW2 victory parade
Next Post: Alabama ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth takes effect »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’

    Georgia rebukes Trump over US voter fraud ‘Big Lie’

  • Nike halts sales to retailers in Russia

    Nike halts sales to retailers in Russia

  • Shunned! Caitlyn Jenner Denied Invite To Kardashian-Barker Wedding In Italy

    Shunned! Caitlyn Jenner Denied Invite To Kardashian-Barker Wedding In Italy

  • Paranoid Putin! Russian Leader Promotes Bodyguard To Minister Following Predecessor’s Sudden & Mysterious Death

    Paranoid Putin! Russian Leader Promotes Bodyguard To Minister Following Predecessor’s Sudden & Mysterious Death

Break

  • Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

    Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

  • Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

    Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

  • Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

    Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

  • Paula Abdul planning ‘spectacular’ 60th birthday bash

    Paula Abdul planning ‘spectacular’ 60th birthday bash

RSS Partner Links

  • OMG, Will Poulter is all grown up and lookin’ like a shirtless snack while in Ibiza with Florence Pugh
  • Kevin Spacey HAD A Secret
  • OMG Playlist: May 2022
  • WATCH: Ellen DeGeneres shares how she almost gave her writer the Medal of Freedom by accident
  • Birthday Sluts
  • Page 1 Roundup (05/26)
  • A Look 'Beyond the Law'
  • Wrestle Wednesday
  • Morning Wood

Most Recent

  • Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie  Commit Fraud

    Todd Chrisley’s ‘Ex Lover’ and Business Partner Confirms Gay Affair, Blackmail While Testifying On Helping ‘Chrisley Knows Best’ Star, Wife Julie Commit Fraud

  • Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

    Biden Administration makes revised proposal to protect key Alaska watershed

  • ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

    ‘What is the purpose?’ NC bill on teaching LGBTQ issues likely to be blocked by governor

  • Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

    Ellen DeGeneres ends pioneering talk show under cloud

  • New York City removes last public phone booth

    New York City removes last public phone booth

  • Johnson takes responsibility but won’t quit over lockdown parties

    Johnson takes responsibility but won’t quit over lockdown parties

  • Exclusive: Biden moves to fill key appellate seat vacated by U.S. Supreme Court’s Jackson

    Exclusive: Biden moves to fill key appellate seat vacated by U.S. Supreme Court’s Jackson

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in