DEARBORN, Mich. – It’s official: Ford Motor Company has been named as one of the top 100 national companies on lgbt issues. Members of GLOBE, the gay and lesbian employee group at Ford are thrilled by the recent inclusion in the Gay & Lesbian Values index, despite the common knowledge by insiders at Ford that the company still has more work to do for its lgbt workers. 

In February of 1998, Ford GLOBE learned that noted author Grant Lukenbill was drafting a new book called, “Smart Spending for Gay and Lesbian Consumers: The Most Influential Companies and What You Should Know Before You Shop, Buy, or Invest.” The author’s evaluation of Ford did not sit well with GLOBE members Cindy Clardy, Robert Wagner and John Carter. The three undertook the challenge of educating Lukenbill about Ford’s efforts regarding sexual orientation issues in the company, as well as environmental issues.  

Lukenbill, who has been compiling the GLV Index since 1995, comprises a one-man consulting firm who puts out the list of “gay-positive companies.” So what finally motivated him to add Ford Motor Company to the 1999 GLV Index? He said his decision had more to do with the auto industry than this particular auto company. 

“My personal motivation in putting Ford on the list has more to do with the industry than the company. It is time for one of these auto companies to take a stand. This list is about progress, not perfection. I just tried to find something one of these auto companies has done and draw attention to it. Hopefully this will be a catalyst for change in the auto industry,” said Lukenbill. 

“We’re not kidding anybody here. Ford is not any better than the other auto companies. I will say, though, that there are some very proactive people there,” said Lukenbill. 

Alice J. McKeage, a computer programmer at Ford and executive administrator of GLOBE, said there are many changes occurring at Ford today that are impossible to measure on an index such as the GLV. 

“Diversity is a critical initiative with senior management support,” explained McKeage. “Diversity councils and employee resource groups are leading the way to educate Ford employees about all aspects of diversity. This is the kind of change that cannot be measured in sound bytes or surveys. There is an attitudinal change occurring at all levels of the company, and an accompanying behavioral change. We have worked to put a human face on a stereotype.” 

Despite his heavy criticism of the auto industry in general, Lukenbill also paused briefly to issue a bit of praise for the members of GLOBE. 

“My general impression of the gay and lesbian employees at Ford is that they are pushing very hard, but then all of the gay and lesbian groups are working hard. I forced myself to choose between the three auto companies and decided to bring some attention to Ford,” said Lukenbill.  

He added that he was initially impressed by the gay-friendly contributions made by the Ford Foundation. 

“I think the thing that influenced me first is when I found out about some of the contributions the Ford Foundation had been making to various causes. In the previous year, the Foundation made a relatively modest contribution to a group called Black Nations Queer Nations,” said Lukenbill.  

However, as a point of information, The Ford Foundation, originally funded by members of the Henry Ford family, is headquartered in New York and there is no official connection between the Ford Motor Company and the Foundation. 

The GLV Index, said Lukenbill, takes into consideration the policies of the nation’s most influential companies across 12 different major industrial sectors. The Index uses a detailed 10-point scale.  

McKeage said she was pleased that Ford was included on the GLV Index, but she acknowledged that life at Ford was far from perfect for lgbt workers. 

“While we as gay employees know Ford is not a perfect employer, we feel much progress has been made, and we simply have asked for recognition of that effort. As Grant Lukenbill said about the list of top 100 companies. ‘It is an accounting of progress, not perfection,’” added McKeage. “Is Ford the perfect employer? No! … Two-thirds of GLOBE members fear being out to their management.” 

According to GLOBE member Robert S. Wagner, a Human Resources salaried worker at Ford, it’s important to look beyond Lukenbill’s Index and consider the bigger picture at the auto manufacturer.  

“He (Lukenbill) was being somewhat short-sighted by looking at easy measurables, when what he should be looking at is the cultural change that is taking place in Ford,” said Wagner. “Those changes are much more significant to gay and lesbian employees, investors and customers in the long run.” 

Wagner added that, after speaking to Lukenbill last year, it was clear that he was “moved by the intense effort” of gay and lesbian Ford employees to persuade the Index’s author that the company was deserving of recognition on the list. 

“Although he recognized that employees are frequently proud of their employer and want to see favorable press, it is my belief that he could not ignore the dedication we had to address all of his concerns, and that he opened his eyes to see Ford’s progress,” said Wagner. 

“Since DP (domestic partner) benefits are still not available to Ford employees, I can only hope that our request that he (Lukenbill) be more open-minded and look at our work culture improvements, in addition to the easy measurables,” said Wagner, who echoed McKeage’s assertion that Ford was far from “perfect.” 

“In general, I think top management needs to be more vocally inclusive of ‘sexual orientation’ issues. It should roll off their tongues as easily as the words ‘race’ and ‘gender.’ DP benefits need to be rolled out quickly. I think it is inevitable, but the delay is my concern,” continued Wagner.  

According to Clardy, a cost estimator and GLOBE member at Ford, progress in the last five years for lgbt workers at Ford has been excellent.  

“I am proud of the progress Ford Motor Company has made in the past five years. They have come a long way on gay issues in a relatively short period of time. Like any company, Ford has its strengths and weaknesses. I look forward to the day when sexual orientation and gender presentation are non-issues in corporate America,” said Clardy. 

1999 Gay & Lesbian Values Index of Leading Companies 

Abercrombie & Fitch 
Adobe Software 
Adolph Coors 
Advanced Micro Devices 
Aetna 
America Online 
American Airlines 
American Express 
American President Lines 
Amgen 
Apple Computer 
Aspect 
AT&T 
Autodesk 
Bank of America/NationsBank 
BankBoston/Fleet Bank 
Barnes and Noble 
Bayer 
Bell Atlantic 
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade 
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass. 
Borland International 
Bristol-Myers Squibb 
Calvert Group 
Cambridge Technology Group 
Celestial Seasonings 
Charles Schwab & Company 
Chevron 
Cisco Systems 
Donna Karan 
E*Trade 
Eastman Kodak 
Federal National Mortgage 
Foote Cone & Belding 
Ford Motor Company 
Gannett Co. 
Gay Financial Network 
Gap, Inc. 
General Mills 
Genetech 
Gilead Sciences 
Glaxo Wellcome 
Herman Miller 
Hewlett Packard 
Hill & Knowlton Public Relations 
Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos 
IBM 
IKEA 
Illinois Tool Works 
Informix Software 
Intel, Inc. 
Joseph E. Seagram & Sons 
Kaiser Permanente 
Kinder Lydenberg & Domini 
KPMG Peatmarwick 
Levi Strauss & Co. 
Lillian Vernon 
Liz Claiborne 
Lucent Technologies 
Mattel 
Meyers Pride Value Fund 
Microsoft 
McDonalds Restaurants 
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing 
Mobil 
NCR 
New York Times 
Northern Telecom 
NW Ayer & Company 
Oracle 
Pacific Bell (SBC) 
Pfizer 
PricewaterhouseCoopers 
Polaroid 
Qualcomm 
Quark 
RJR Nabisco 
Sara Lee 
Saturn 
Scholastic 
Scudder Funds 
Shell Oil 
Silicon Graphics 
St. Paul Companies 
Starbucks 
Subaru 
Sun Microsystems 
Sybase 
The Limited, Inc. 
Time Warner 
Trillium Asset Management 
US West 
Viacom 
Village Voice 
V-Management 
Virgin Atlantic Airlines 
Visa International 
Volkswagen 
Wainwright Bank and Trust 
Walt Disney/ABC 
Wells Fargo 
Working Assets 
Xerox 
Ziff Davis Publishing