Ford Motor Co., Rob Has Changed our Policies

Members:

2000 Print Report A Problem

This remarkable diversity-oriented print ad features Rob, a Global Product Development & Quality Diversity and Worklife Coordinator for Ford, who is also a co-founder of its gay employee group, Ford GLOBE.

While other corporate diversity ads coyly use generic references to diversity through images of people of color, this one uniquely celebrates a gay employee leader.

Positioned in front of a Mustang, the headline text reads, "Rob has changed our policies, our culture, and our future. And he's just getting started."

The ad's body text says, "It started in 1994. Rob and a coworker formed GLOBE (Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees), one of several company-sanctioned employee resource groups. His goal was truly ambitious. Rob wanted to change the culture of one of the world's largest corporations.

"We welcomed his ideas from day one. Today thanks to Rob's efforts and those of numerous other Ford employees, we're creating a truly diverse and harmonious workplace for every member of the Ford family -- whatever their sexual orientation. That's why we now offer health care benefits for same sex domestic partners. Is our work finished? Not at all.

The world of Ford Motor Company is changing. Rob is making sure that it's changing for the better. How will your ideas impact the future of Ford? Visit us online and see for yourself."

The ad ran on the inside back cover of Dec. 2000/Jan. 2001 issue of Diversity Careers in Engineering & Information Technology, a magazine in which Ford Recruiting regularly places ads. The issue included a story called GLBT Engineers are Out, and Doing a Better Job because of It, which quoted two lesbian Ford employees and photo of the Ford Recruiting booth at the national 2000 Lesbian & Gay MBA Conference (Ford was a corporate sponsor).