Ford Walks Back ‘Woke’ DEI Policies, Joining Growing List of US Companies

Ford Motor Company is backing away from some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, becoming the latest American firm to pump the brakes on “woke” policies this year and joining the likes of John Deere, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply.

Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations’ woke policies, reported on X on Wednesday that he was in the middle of an investigation of Ford when the company sent him documentation indicating that it had made some changes.

Starbuck posted a letter from Ford CEO Jim Farley to employees, where the chief executive stated that “the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve,” and thus in the past year, the company has “taken a fresh look at our policies and practices.”

In the letter, Farley laid out a series of bullet points, telling the Ford workforce that the company does not utilize quotas in hiring, and saying that it prioritizes its resources for business purposes “versus publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day.” Farley said that the company has “evolved” its Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), noting that all its ERGs are open to all employees.

Farley also informed employees that Ford had made the decision earlier in the year to no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which is an annual survey and report used to gauge “policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees.”

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