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Ford becomes the latest company to scale back its diversity and inclusion policies:
Ford is changing some of its diversity and inclusion policies, joining a growing list of companies altering their approaches amid a changing legal and political environment and online pressure from the right.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an email to employees Wednesday that the company has changed some of its policies in the past year. It has shifted its employee resource groups' focus and ended participation in external culture surveys by the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. In 2017, Ford boasted about its recognition from the organization as one of the best places to work for LGBTQ equality.
Right-wing activist Robby Starbuck posted a copy of the email on X and took credit, saying he had told the automaker he was looking into their policies. (Ford confirmed the accuracy of the email to CNN.)
"We are mindful that our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs," Farley wrote in the email. "The external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve."
Farley said that Ford remains committed to creating an "inclusive workspace and building a team that leverages diverse perspectives, backgrounds and thinking styles."
Ford joins Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co., John Deere and other companies in revising or pulling back on their diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI), support for gay Pride marches and LGBTQ events, strategies to slow climate change and other social policies.
Some companies have backtracked more than Ford. Tractor Supply, for example, announced in June that it will withdraw its carbon emission reduction goals and eliminate jobs and goals focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. It will also stop sponsoring LGBTQ+ Pride festivals and voting campaigns
Starbuck, a former Hollywood music video director turned conservative activist, has claimed credit for these moves. But business experts have told CNN that Starbuck's activism alone does not fully explain these decisions, and some companies' commitments to diversity and inclusion were thin to start.
The Human Rights Campaign criticized Ford's announcement, saying the company was "abandoning inclusive employees policies and support" and "cowering" to Starbuck.
"Ford Motor Company's shortsighted decisions will have long-term consequences," Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a news release Wednesday. "Ford Motor Company is abandoning its financial duty to recruit and keep top talent from across the full talent pool. In making their purchasing decisions, consumers should take note that Ford Motor Company has abandoned its commitment to our communities."
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Monday September 02 2024, @02:37PM
That has been demonstrated for most, if not all of my lifetime. The boss is going to hire the guy he thinks is going to make him the most money. Even if he is prejudiced, he'll most likely hire the most qualified person, even if the most qualified is the demographic he dislikes. And, the lazy, ignorant, incompetent fool eventually gets fired, even when that fool is of the preferred demographic. And, strangely, we see the same thing happening in Europe, in Africa, in Arabia, Asia, and wherever people live. There are exceptions to that rule, of course. The top paying management jobs tend to go to the boss's offspring, nephews and nieces, and in-laws. When a company advertises itself as a 'Family Owned Business', you expect to see the family getting promoted ahead of everyone. For the most part, we can accept and tolerate that in larger businesses, provided those family members are minimally competent. That still leaves room for the best to advance into good jobs, and even cushy jobs when the company is big enough. If you really, really, really want a top job in a family owned business, you should marry into the family. That's just the way things are, and the way they alwasy will be.
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