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Woke Company Report

Delta Air Lines – Woke Company Report

D76/100 higher is better
Originally published October 30, 2026
A Delta Air Lines Airbus A350 jet climbing against a grey sky.
Photo: Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-900 (N503DN) departing Boston Logan International Airport. Chris Ianno, CC BY 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons.

Full report

"We remain committed to hiring and promoting the most qualified talent and aspire for our senior leadership team to reflect the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of our more than 100,000 employees."

Delta Air Lines 2026 proxy statement, filed Apr 24, 2026

Points deducted by category

  1. DEI hiring, pay & suppliers: 18/15 points deducted
    • Delta's 2026 proxy statement (filed Apr 24, 2026) has a section titled "Our Approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)" and refers to "our DEI council (comprised of nearly 30 senior leaders across Delta)." The same section says: "We remain committed to hiring and promoting the most qualified talent and aspire for our senior leadership team to reflect the diversity of backgrounds and experiences" of its workforce. (source)
    • Delta News Hub, Oct 21, 2026: the company quotes Keyra Lynn Johnson as its "Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Impact Officer." (source)
    • Aug 11, 2020 memo to employees, "Taking Action," from CEO Ed Bastian: "Requiring all hiring slates and interview panels to reflect diversity," "doubling the percentage of Black Officers and Directors by 2025," "doubling our spending with Black-owned businesses by 2025," and "Requiring each bidding and request-for-proposal process for new partnerships to include participation from minority-owned businesses." (source)
    • Delta's 2024 proxy statement still listed "requiring hiring candidate slates and interview panels to reflect diversity" among its practices. The 2025 and 2026 proxy statements do not repeat this language. (source)
  2. Internal policies & benefits: 0/10 points deducted
  3. Free speech, debanking, deplatforming & anti-military/anti-American conduct: 10/15 points deducted
    • Delta statement, Feb 24, 2018: the airline said it "will be ending its contract for discounted fares for travel to the association's annual meeting" of the National Rifle Association and would ask the NRA to "remove Delta's information from its meeting website." Delta said the decision "reflects the airline's neutral status in the current national debate over gun control" and added: "Delta continues to support the 2nd Amendment." (source)
  4. Political giving (PAC, treasury, leadership): 0/10 points deducted
  5. Advocacy, lobbying & public statements: 3.5/15 points deducted
    • Reported (AP, Apr 27, 2021): "More than 400 companies — including Tesla, Pfizer, Delta Air Lines and Amazon — have signed on to support civil rights legislation for LGBTQ people that is moving through Congress, advocates said Tuesday." The Human Rights Campaign said its Business Coalition for the Equality Act had grown to 416 members. (source)
    • Aug 11, 2020 memo from CEO Ed Bastian lists among the company's recent steps "our advocacy for Georgia Hate Crimes legislation and police reform in Minnesota." (source)
  6. Marketing, products & content: 4/10 points deducted
    • Atlanta Pride's official 2026 festival events guide: "The annual Atlanta Pride Parade, presented by Delta Air Lines, is the largest in Atlanta." The parade was held Oct 11, 2026. (source)
  7. Charitable & activist funding: 2.5/10 points deducted
    • Aug 11, 2020 memo from CEO Ed Bastian commits to "Establishing new partnerships with organizations driving systemic change, primarily in the areas of social injustice, economic empowerment and wealth development." (source)
  8. ESG, activist investing & industry/regional boycotts: 0/10 points deducted
  9. China & foreign-adversary ties: 1.5/5 points deducted
    • Delta statement, Jan 12, 2018, as quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: after China's civil aviation regulator asked Delta to investigate why its website listed Taiwan and Tibet as countries and called for an "immediate and public" apology, Delta said: "Delta recognizes the seriousness of this issue and we took immediate steps to resolve it. It was an inadvertent error with no business or political intention, and we apologize deeply for the mistake." (source)
  10. Election & voting-law activism: 3/10 points deducted
    • Mar 31, 2021 memo to employees from CEO Ed Bastian on Georgia's Election Integrity Act of 2021 (SB 202): "the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values." (source)
  11. Border & immigration enforcement: 0/10 points deducted
  12. Faith, family & children: 0/10 points deducted
  13. Climate & anti-fossil-fuel advocacy: 0.5/10 points deducted
    • 10-K (fiscal 2025): "We are pursuing a long-term strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from our airline operations by 2050." (source)
  14. Second Amendment & lawful-firearms commerce: 0/10 points deducted
  15. Government-coordinated content moderation: 0/10 points deducted
  16. Abortion advocacy, benefits & funding: 0/10 points deducted
  17. American Workers & H-1B Displacement: 0/10 points deducted

Final verdict: Grade D

Grades run A (best) to F (worst) on a 0–100 scale, where a higher score is better: every company starts at 100 and loses points for each finding. Every finding links to its source. See how we rate for the scale and the category caps.