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Ford Motor is the latest company to walk some of its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The automaker took “a fresh look” at its DEI policies and practices in the past year to take into account the evolving “external and legal environment related to political and social issues,” according to an internal communication that is was shared with Ford global. employees and published on X on Wednesday by an anti-DEI activist. Ford confirmed the letter was authentic and said he had no further comment on the matter.
Ford’s move follows the retailer Supply of tractorswhich was one of the first major companies to stop their efforts DEI, like it broken bonds Earlier this summer with the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ + advocacy group, and DEI’s objectives were withdrawn such as increasing the number of employees of color at the manager level. Harley Davidson too decided last week to stop consulting HRC’s metrics for the treatment of LGBTQ + employees and asserted that it does not have a DEI function.
Home improvement salesman Lowe’s he also joined the efforts earlier this week, and noted that he could still make additional changes to the policies over time.
Companies have mentioned a conservative reaction or changing social and political environments in their announcements.
In its Wednesday memo, Ford said it will not use quotas for minority dealers or suppliers, adding that it has no hiring quotas.
The automaker will also stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, as well as various other “best places to work” lists.
“As a global company, we will continue to put our effort and resources into taking care of our customers, our team and our communities versus commenting publicly on the many polarizing issues of the day,” Ford said in the statement sent to employees. “There will definitely be times when we will speak out on major issues if we believe our voice can make a positive difference.”
The Human Rights Campaign scores participating companies annually based on their measures of corporate equality for LGBTQ+ individuals, including practices such as offering gender-neutral spousal health benefits and having distinct efforts to LGBTQ+ community outreach.
Ford, in previous years, had received a perfect score on the index.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said the group was disappointed by Ford’s decision.
“By failing to support women leaders, employees of color and LGBTQ+ employees, Ford Motor Company is abandoning its financial obligation to recruit and retain the best talent across the talent pool,” Robinson said in a statement. by e-mail. “In making their purchasing decisions, consumers should note that Ford Motor Company has abandoned its commitment to our communities.”
Following the decision of the Supreme Court cancel the affirmative action in colleges, a growing number of conservative activists on social media have called on companies to stop investing in DEI.
“There is an old saying: If you give an inch, people take a kilometer, and this is essentially what we saw when the Supreme Court made a decision that was very specific to institutions of higher education”, the industrial and organizational psychologist Derek Avery. he told CNBC. “Conservative state attorneys general have sent letters to corporations warning that they could expect to be sued if they continue to advocate and promote DEI practices within their organizations that could be interpreted as and against the sentence of the Supreme Court, although the sentence of the Supreme Court had not related to these corporate initiatives.
In response to a question from NBC News, anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck said in an email that calling the campaign an anti-LGBTQ effort would be “inaccurate.”
“I’m opposed to any group on sexuality in the workplace, gay or straight,” he said, citing support his effort has received from Log Cabin Republicans, a politically conservative group led by gay GOP members.
“What we want to do with this campaign is just make jobs about work again without divisive political or social issues,” Starbuck said. “Some on the left can see the sponsorship of a pride event as a support of a community, but others see children exposed to sexual content and find it very inappropriate for a workplace to sponsor. As a consumer I cannot in good faith support a company that explicitly finances things that I am morally opposed to.”
