Apple gets a ‘B’ on ‘Racial and Gender Pay Scorecard’

Eleven of 51 companies (in order of rank from best to worst) — Adobe, Nike, Progressive Insurance, American Express, Reinsurance Group, JP Morgan Chase, Apple, Cincinnati Financial, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Intel—garnered a “B” grade for their efforts to disclose and act on their racial and gender pay gaps in the “Racial and Gender Pay Scorecard” released today to mark Equal Pay Day.

Fewer than one in 10 — Mastercard, Starbucks, Pfizer, Citigroup, and Bank of New York Mellon – get an “A,” while over half (26) get an “F.” The 4th edition of the Scorecard is released by the investment management firm Arjuna Capital and Proxy Impact. 

The grades are based on quantitative disclosures (versus qualitative assurances) by companies taking concrete steps to close racial and gender pay gaps. Natasha Lamb, managing partner, Arjuna Capital, says the 51 companies in the ranking have all been engaged by investors through the shareholder proposal process and asked to improve their public pay equity disclosures.

“The world’s largest corporations are under intense pressure to close their racial and gender pay gaps in response to investor insistence, the #BLM and #MeToo movements, and increasing public policy and regulation,” she said. “But despite a wave of corporate statements expressing solidarity with Black Americans and women, there are very few standout companies that actually provide an honest accounting of and commitment to closing racial and gender pay gaps.”

Key findings of the report include:

• Some of the biggest names in corporate America earned an “F” grade, including Goldman Sachs, Colgate, AT&T, McDonalds, Walmart, and Verizon.
• Nine companies’ scores deteriorated year-over-year, including Amazon, Wells Fargo, Intel, Google, Microsoft, Verizon, Expedia, Starbucks, and Arthur J. Gallagher. Twenty-four companies improved their scores.
• Only 23 out of 51 companies disclose on racial pay gaps. And there is a noticeable difference in racial/gender pay disclosure by sector. For example, while two-thirds of financial companies have improved their scores from last year, only one-third of tech companies achieved such progress.
• Bank of New York Mellon and Pfizer earned an “A” grade this year, joining Mastercard, Starbucks, and Citigroup at the top of the list, due to commitments to best-practice disclosures.