Last Updated:
3/15/21 7:25 PM
overall rating:
do better
United Airlines
Internal Representation & Support
43%
Public Commitment
42%
External Communication
53%
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
During Black History Month 2021, United Airlines teamed up with Chase and Visa to encourage customer donations to civil rights and education organizations such as the United Negro College Fund.
Lowlights
In June 2020, United Airlines was extremely vocal about donating to LGBTQ+ organizations during but did not once mention any donations in support of racial justice. Their corporate DEI page is extremely brief and vague, providing no information on their goals or action steps toward achieving equity.
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, 26% - 30% BIPOC, 21% - 25% Women
Executive Leadership:
10% - 11% Black, 6% - 10% BIPOC, 11% - 20% Women
Information not publicly available
Workforce:
An appointed DEI senior leader and/or a dedicated DEI organization
DEI Support:
II. Public Commitment
United Airlines has pledged a donation of Unspecified contribution amount towards racial injustice, specifically for Black lives. Additionally, United Airlines has engaged in actions that advance racial justice and/or uplift BIPOC communities, such as partnerships with nonprofits or mission-based organizations that advance racial justice and/or uplift BIPOC communities, and matching donations to a broad range of qualifying organizations. United Airlines is also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and people living with disabilities.
III. External Communications
United Airlines has issued a public statement on social media 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, they have shown support of the LGBTQ+ community beyond Pride on social media but there is little to no evidence of inclusivity towards other marginalized communities.
