Last Updated:
11/1/20 7:33 PM
overall rating:
do better
McDonald's
Internal Representation & Support
66%
Public Commitment
56%
External Communication
46%
To evaluate this pillar, we take into consideration a range of factors, including but not limited to:
- Employee representation
- Diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI)
We weigh a company’s degree of public commitment primarily on their monetary contributions to DEI matters or organizations fighting racial injustice.
Forms of monetary support we look for:
One-off donations
Recurring donations
Grant initiatives
Employee donation matching
Highlights
In 2019, McDonald's launched their Black & Positively Golden movement to uplift Black communities. In addition, both their Board of Directors and Executive Leadership team are more than 15% Black.
Lowlights
Two former Black McDonald's executives sued for racial discrimination, as well as 52 former Black franchisees; the company's recent partnership with Travis Scott has been speculated to have been created in order to detract from these lawsuits. In addition, the ACLU has publicly written to McDonald's, stating that that by neglecting to offer paid sick and family leave for all employees (the majority of whom are BIPOC), the company is perpetuating racism.
We scour the company’s website and official social media channels to determine what message they are sending around racial injustice, how they are communicating it, and whether their communications are perceived as genuine or performative.
Public statement: We verify that companies have made a formal statement regarding racial injustice.
Social media: We consider how a company uses their platform(s) beyond performative allyship.
Representation: For companies that have the opportunity to showcase diversity in their feed, we consider whether they have adequate Black representation and BIPOC representation across their models.
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Deep Dive
I. Internal Representation & Support:
Board of Directors:
14% - 15% Black, 21% - 25% BIPOC, 21% - 25% Women
Executive Leadership:
> 15% Black, 26% - 30% BIPOC, 36% - 40% Women
> 50% Women
Workforce:
An appointed DEI senior leader and/or a dedicated DEI organization, A Black employee resource group
DEI Support:
II. Public Commitment
McDonald's has pledged a donation of 0.001% - 0.009% of annual revenue towards racial injustice, specifically for Black lives. Additionally, McDonald's has engaged in actions that advance racial justice and/or uplift BIPOC communities, such as partnerships with nonprofits or mission-based organizations, sponsorship of events, and matching donations to a broad range of qualifying organizations. McDonald's is also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants.
III. External Communications
McDonald's has issued a public statement, both on social media and in a public memo, addressing racial injustice that explicitly stated "Black Lives Matter." Since June 2020, 0.1% - 9% of the brand's social media content has been centered around racial injustice with posts seeming performative in nature. While the brand does not regularly feature models in their social media posts, there is little to no evidence of additional actions the brand takes to show support of the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities.
