Companies Respond to SCOTUS (or don't) - July 11, 2022

Hi Gang,

Following up on the previous Vital Signs, a number of biotech CEOs have spoken out publicly about the overturn of Roe v. Wade, including this response from more than 100 female biotech leaders (also covered here in Fierce Biotech). I’ve been curious to see how other industries are responding, and RRA’s Center for Leadership Insights has been tracking this – we wanted to share some quick datapoints. Note: This data is as of July 8; given the legal issues presented to companies (more on that in this NPR piece and this CNBC article), a number of companies may still be working on a response.

Response to Roe v. Wade

RRA reviewed responses from the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500 (F-100), looking at:

• Whether they have commented on the SCOTUS ruling, and

• Whether they have noted actions they are taking for employees (e.g., augmenting health coverage to include travel for reproductive care).

Findings (as of July 8, 2022):

F-100 Companies

• F-100 response to SCOTUS decision:

  • Vast majority of companies (92) have made no statements about the decision itself (i.e., nothing in public domain)

  • 7 companies have acknowledged employee concerns without sharing personal views

• F-100 statements on employee support actions:

  • 58 companies have not made public statements about changes to employee health coverage

  • 30 announced they will augment health coverage to include travel for reproductive care; 7 companies reconfirmed that they already cover this; and 3 companies stated that plans are still in development

    • Of the 37 companies that currently do or will cover travel, 11 are Tech/Telco, 9 are Consumer and Media, 11 are Finance, and 4 are Healthcare

  • 2 (Ford and Intel) stated that they would not change their existing health coverage to specifically include cover for necessary travel to access reproductive services

Additional Analysis

For ongoing tracking of companies that are making public statements, see Yale’s tracker here.

See Fortune’s article for additional analysis on who is making statements and commentary on why companies may be choosing to comment. (Fortune’s analysis points to some notable industry and location variability: Tech, FS, and Professional Services companies make up the bulk of those that have made public statements. RRA’s analysis also shows that many companies headquartered outside of the US have made statements and noted that they are expanding healthcare coverage or have other steps in place to ensure access to reproductive care.)

Be well,

Jackie