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Ford Motor hit the brakes yesterday on its corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices. An internal memo from the board outlined a "fresh look" at DEI that includes severing itself from the hard-progressive Human Rights Campaign, and the end of provocative political stands. As CNBC reported yesterday, this appears to be a serendipitous second-order effect from a more public campaign waged against Harley-Davidson and its radically "woke" policies:

Ford Motor is the latest company to walk back some of its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The automaker has taken “a fresh look” at its DEI policies and practices over the past year to take in to account the evolving “external and legal environment related to political and social issues,” according to an internal communication that was shared with global Ford employees and posted Wednesday on X by an anti-DEI activist. Ford confirmed the letter was authentic and said it had no additional comment on the matter.

Ford’s move follows retailer Tractor Supply, which one of the first major companies to stop its DEI efforts, as it severed ties earlier this summer with the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and retired DEI targets like boosting the number of employees of color at the manager level. Harley-Davidson, whose board of directors includes Ford CEO Jim Farley, also decided last week to stop consulting the HRC’s metric for treatment of LGBTQ+ employees and affirmed that it does not have a DEI function.

Anti-woke campaigner Robby Starbuck reported this yesterday and confirmed that Ford acted to pre-empt a fight over DEI. Starbuck released the internal memo in full, but walks viewers through it in his video presentation. Starbuck connects this to his more public campaign against Harley-Davidson, and assumes that Farley saw the writing on the wall from his seat on Harley's board:

Big news: We were in the middle of investigating woke policies @Ford but this morning Ford confirmed to me that they’re making changes.

Here are the changes:

• Ending participation in the @HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index social credit system.

• It sounds like there will… pic.twitter.com/LAIxUgNicV

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 28, 2024

The biggest change is ending their flagellating ties to HRC. Why companies embrace "ratings" from activist groups as instructive for business purposes is beyond comprehension anyway. It's a form of Danegeld and an entirely unnecessary one at that. Businesses should operate in a lawful and ethical manner, and comply with regulations passed by legislatures. Otherwise, their fiduciary duty is to shareholders, not political activists.

Starbuck calls this "a great start," but not the end of the scrutiny of Ford's practices:

• Ending participation in the @HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index social credit system.

• It sounds like there will be no more donations to pride events or other divisive events. 

• ERG groups must be focused on business.

• No supplier or dealership diversity quotas.

• CEO calls for respect and civility toward all ideologies, hints at merit based approach.

Starbuck is also compiling a record of success in fighting back against discriminatory "woke" policies:

So far you’ve helped me change corporate policy at Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle, Lowe’s and now Ford. We are a force to be reckoned with.

It certainly seems that way. Maybe Starbuck had better focus on Boeing next.