Ford Pulls Back on DEI Policies, Withdraws From Corporate Equality Index

The Ford logo at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 10, 2019. Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

Ford Motor Co. has slammed the brakes on some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies after reviewing them over the past year.

According to an Aug. 28 memo sent to all employees by CEO Jim Farley, which has since been widely shared on social media, the automobile manufacturer has decided to stop participating in external culture surveys.

Farley says this includes the annual survey by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which measures workplace inclusion for LGBT employees and provides companies with a score on its “Corporate Equality Index,” which HRC says is a “national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.”

Ford will also stop participating in various “best places to work lists,” the memo said.

“We will continue to build a high-performance culture focused on ‘what’ we deliver with aligned objectives, high standards, and accountability and, as importantly, ‘how’ we deliver through excellence, focus, and collaboration,” Farley said.

“This creates an environment where all of us can do our best work anchored in respect and inclusion.”

Farley said in the memo that the car manufacturer does not utilize hiring quotas or compensation to achieve specific diversity goals.

“Likewise, while we continue to develop a dealer body that reflects the communities they serve, we will not use quotas for minority dealerships or suppliers,” he said.

Avoiding ‘Polarizing Issues’

Farley said the company will try to stay more politically neutral in its actions.

He said Ford would still comment on issues on which it could provide meaningful input and donate to worthy causes that “move people forward and upward.”

“There will of course be times when we will speak out on core issues if we believe our voice can make a positive difference,” he said.

Ford’s policy adjustments follow a growing backlash to ultra-progressive agendas being promoted by some corporations to consumers.

Workers put engines on the frame of Ford Motor Co. fuel-powered F-150 trucks under production at its truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., on Sept. 20, 2022. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Displeased With Decision

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in an Aug. 28 statement that the HRC could “not be more disappointed” in Ford’s decision, calling it “shortsighted.”

Robinson said Ford’s withdrawal from participation in the annual survey and the foundation’s corporate equality index would “have long-term consequences” for the company and called for a boycott of the carmaker.

Despite Ford’s withdrawal, the HRC still has “more participating businesses now than ever before” in the corporate equality index, the advocacy group said, with 1,300 businesses participating in the last year, including more than 300 from the Fortune 500.

However, a number of other companies have also confirmed they’re no longer participating in HRC’s corporate equality index, including Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman, home goods retailer Lowe’s, and motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.

Objections to the index include criticism that it pressures companies to align with HRC’s agenda, its criteria are too ideologically driven, it is divisive, and its goals are prioritized over business interests.

Ford responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, saying in an email, “The communication to our global employees speaks for itself. We have nothing further to add.”

Update: This article has been updated to include comment from Ford.