Bill Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, speaks at the reveal of the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on May 19, 2021. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Bill Ford, Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, speaks at the reveal of the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on May 19, 2021. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Amid Public, Shareholder Backlash, Some Major Corporations Drop DEI Policies
Since 2021, 25 companies have been notified by shareholders that their DEI programs constitute illegal discrimination and a breach of fiduciary duty.
Bill Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, speaks at the reveal of the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on May 19, 2021. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Bill Ford, Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, speaks at the reveal of the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on May 19, 2021. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
As Ford took steps last week to distance itself from the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement that has swept the corporate world in recent years, it became just one of a number of companies that are rethinking their commitments to race-based ideology.
In an Aug. 28 memo to employees, Ford CEO Jim Farley said he is “mindful that [Ford’s] employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs,” and that the company is taking “a fresh look” at its DEI program.
