#DontBanEquality: CEOs Step Up to Say Abortion Bans are Bad for Business | BSR Blog

“We’re in a time of pushback against women’s rights all over the world. But we stand up and we stand strong. We have the power of many and of justice, and we will not go backwards.”

Last week, more than 8,000 women and men from around the globe convened in Vancouver for Women Deliver, the world’s largest international women’s health and rights conference. For those of us in the United States, these words from Women Deliver’s president, Katja Iversen, are especially resonant, as women’s fundamental right to health care faces an unprecedented level of attack.

Over the past few months, nine state legislatures—from Georgia to Ohio—have passed bills to place sharp limits on access to reproductive health care, including abortion services, or to ban abortion almost entirely, as seen in Alabama. In this time of pushback against women’s reproductive rights, the public is standing up and standing strong.

The business community is also taking a stance.

On Monday, CEOs from more than 180 companies, representing over 100,000 workers, united under the banner #DontBanEquality to publish a full-page ad in The New York Times that stated:

“Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health, independence and economic stability of our employees and customers. Simply put, it goes against our values and is bad for business.”

The number of signers has since grown to more than 300, including CEOs of companies ranging from Bloomberg LP and H&M to Ben & Jerry’s and Square. In the statement, they made clear the business case on why restricting women’s access to reproductive care harms their businesses: “It impairs our ability to build diverse and inclusive workforce pipelines, recruit top talent across the states, and protect the well-being of all the people who keep our businesses thriving day in and out.”

Full blog post on BSR.org