Microsoft

Microsoft has committed to accessible design principles and its Windows and Office products have a host of accessibility features that accommodate people with a wide range of disabilities. The company also discloses the number of its employees with disabilities.

Microsoft’s TEALS programme pairs computer science professionals with high school teachers in North America. The company provides cash grants, technology and resources to support teachers’ training in computer science. Microsoft also funds non-profits to provide technical skills training to vulnerable groups in the US.

Microsoft has a high-level commitment to cybersecurity and follows industry norms by having a security incident response team and international certification for its information security management system. It has a group-level privacy policy and reports on government requests for user information. The company has a high-level commitment to child online protection. It supports online safety for children through parental controls for its products and international cooperation on monitoring and reporting child abuse online.

Microsoft maintains a repository of open source code and several programmes. It also supports and collaborates on open source research. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has increased its support for artificial intelligence (AI) for health and other research fields focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Notably, it is a leading proponent of establishing ethics around the use of AI. It has a committee that advises on AI research and it publishes the ethical principles it follow in its AI activities.

Microsoft can report the distribution of direct economic value among its stakeholders in accordance with global standards, as well as income taxes paid and employment in its main markets.

Microsoft has an opportunity to support initiatives for digital and media literacy that offer in-person training. The company should improve transparency by reporting on its financial and in-kind contribution to its existing programmes on advancing digital skills.

Microsoft can enhance transparency by making its information security management certification publicly available and reporting data breaches, in accordance with global standards.

Through its membership in various industry associations, Microsoft has an opportunity to share its leading practices and advocate for broader adoption of open, sustainable, inclusive and ethical innovation.

Microsoft meets all indicators with regard to respecting human rights. The company commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights. It also has a publicly available policy statement that expects its business relationships to commit to respecting the ILO core labour rights. Furthermore, Microsoft identifies, assesses and takes action to address its salient human rights issues in its own operations and in its business relationships. Additionally, the company identifies and engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be impacted by its operations. It also has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

Microsoft publicly commits to respecting the health and safety of workers and expects its business relationships to do the same. The company does not disclose a policy commitment stating that it does not require workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours. It also does not explicitly state that it requires its business relationships to make this commitment. Furthermore, the company provides no relevant evidence in relation to paying its workers a living wage. The company commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment, but it does not disclose a time-bound target on the subject. Microsoft also has an opportunity to improve its disclosure on workforce diversity by including more indicators of diversity per employee category, such as age group.

Microsoft has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in contracts with its business relationships. Furthermore, the company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. It also has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints on the topic. Microsoft does not disclose any relevant information in relation to tax, such as a global tax strategy or income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. The company does disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement. However, it has no publicly available statement indicating that it does not make political contributions, and it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures for its global operations.

The below datasheet disaggregates scores within the three core social measurement areas and by specific indicators.