Late last month Alliance Defending Freedom launched the ViewpointDiversityScore.org website and annual Business Index.
The initiative is a joint venture of ADF and Inspire Investing, a Christian investing and financial technology firm.
The list is the first comprehensive benchmark designed to measure corporate respect for religious and ideological diversity in the market, workplace, and public square.
Benchmarked companies scored an average of 12% overall on respecting religious and ideological diversity.
While no industry performed well, a handful scored particularly poorly. The two industries with the lowest overall scores were computer software at 6%, and internet services and retailing at 7%. The financial and data services industry also scored poorly at 8%.
The lackluster results paint a grim picture of corporate America’s respect for religious and ideological diversity.
Jeremy Tedesco, ADF’s Senior Counsel said, “CEOs and business leaders shouldn’t weaponize their influence or the companies they run to divide Americans or engage in speech censorship or anti-religious bigotry. Instead of using the cultural power of their brands to drive polarization, business leaders should commit to respecting everyone. “