Ford, Coors Light pull out of Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ+ ranking system

Ford, Coors Light, as well as other brands have backed out of an LGBTQ+ ranking system that spear-headed by the Human Rights Campaign. The left-wing group has ranked companies and brands by their DEI initiatives and policies surrounding the LGBTQIA agenda, as well as other efforts.

Ford, Harley-Davidson, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, Brown-Forman, distiller for Jack Daniels, as well as Molson Coors have announced they will stop working with the group recently as they dial back diversity initiatives. Nearly all of the companies had ranked well on HRC's "Corporate Equality Index," which the organization calls the "national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the companies did not elaborate on why they highlighted the HRC in their announcements. Some of the corporations said in their announcements that they would stop sharing data with HRC. In each instance, the companies had been targets of conservative filmmaker and commentator Robby Starbuck.

Starbuck has called out the companies who worked with HRC, as the index is based off of some policies conservatives would disagree with, such as supporting sex changes for minors. The focus on HRC is another chapter in the unwinding of DEI initiatives. These initiatives, at many companies, have taken a nosedive after they rose in the corporate world following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

In a memo, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the car company was a “pioneer in providing opportunities to people around the world of all races, genders, and backgrounds," but added that the policy changes were coming by taking into account “external and legal environment related to political and social issues.”

HRC President Kelly Robinson stated in response to Ford, that the company was “signaling that inclusion and other core values are no longer a priority in the workplace," and added that it "will hurt the company’s long-term business success, from employee retention to consumer decisions about how they will spend their dollars."

HRC said it does not evaluate or score companies that do not provide data for the index rankings. Molson Coors distanced itself from HRC the week after Starbuck reached out to executives at the beer manufacturer, threatening to "expose their woke policies."

After Starbuck reached out, Molson Coors said it would end its DEI training programs, donations to political events, end its participation in the HRC's ranking system, and end measures such as diversity supplier goals.