Oracle

Oracle contributes to increasing digital accessibility by adhering to international design principles and designing products for users with disabilities. In addition, Oracle supported the 2021 Annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, a leading forum that facilitates sharing of knowledge, innovations and best practices in inclusive technology. Oracle also supports a number of non-profits operating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes for women and girls.

Oracle promotes the development of basic, intermediate and technical digital skills through various programmes. In partnership with the Kapor Center in the US, Oracle runs SMASH, a free three-year, STEM-focused college prep programme targeted at students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Its subsidiary, Oracle Education Foundation, also works with schools and non-profit organisations to deliver training programmes on subjects such as design and coding. Moreover, the Oracle Academy offers teachers and students access to Oracle’s cloud services, learning resources and developer tools.

Oracle demonstrates good practices in its senior-level oversight of cybersecurity. It has a security oversight committee, which is chaired by the company’s CEO and reports to the board of directors. The company also follows industry norms for monitoring and responding to security incidents.

Oracle demonstrates leadership in open innovation through its commitment to open source initiatives and its participation in the work of standards bodies and open source projects. In addition, Oracle contributes to the tech innovation ecosystem by providing venture capital investments and supporting start-ups through mentorship and free or discounted software.

Little evidence was found of Oracle’s support for making digital technologies available for underserved populations. Oracle is an industry leader in many accessibility areas, but it can enhance transparency by reporting the number of people with disabilities it employs. Moreover, the company can disclose how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders, as well as the income tax it pays and employment in its main markets.

Oracle has well-running technical skills development programmes that merit third-party impact assessments. Additionally, Oracle can enhance disclosure on programme metrics, such as participation numbers.

Oracle can reinforce its senior-level oversight of cybersecurity through a high-level policy commitment. The company can also adopt best practice by reporting the number of data breaches it experiences and the government requests it receives for user information. It could develop and implement a group privacy policy. Additionally, as a digital company, Oracle can consider making a high-level policy commitment to child online safety.

Oracle can enhance its support for sustainability-related research by partnering with universities and non-profit organisations. The company also has an opportunity to enhance transparency by disclosing the number of its women employees in tech roles and the ethical guidelines it applies to its research and development (R&D).

Oracle 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. The company also has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints. However, Oracle does not disclose a process to identify, assess and act on the salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships. The company also does not engage with stakeholders whose human rights could be impacted by its operations.

Oracle commits to respecting worker health and safety but does not require its business relationships to ensure the health and safety of their workers. The company also does not disclose a policy commitment stating that it does not require workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours. It does not explicitly state whether it expects its business relationships to make this commitment either. While Oracle is committed to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and already has more than 30% women on its highest governance body, it does not disclose time-bound targets on the subject or provide gender-related wage information. Although the company discloses information on gender diversity in the workforce, it has an opportunity to disclose employee numbers for more indicators of diversity per employee category.

Oracle has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. Furthermore, the company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption and has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints on the topic. Oracle discloses a tax strategy that is only applicable to its UK operations. Further, it reports the income taxes it pays in three categories – federal, state and foreign. However, it does not disclose its income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. Also, Oracle does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement. Specifically, the company does not have a publicly available statement indicating that it does not make political contributions, nor does it disclose its lobbying expenditures.