A RIGHTING PROGRAM TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE WORLD’S WRONGS
Ford’s Supplier Diversity Team’s Driving a Better Tomorrow program transforms lives that need help the most.
Some people talk the talk. Others walk the walk. But the Ford Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Team not only talks the talk and walks the walk—they drive the drive.
Over the past five years, the Ford Supplier Diversity & Inclusion team has hosted a forum called Driving a Better Tomorrow (DABT). This internal event helps put the spotlight on important diversity, inclusion, and sustainability topics to inform, educate, and move Ford employees into action.
“Through this program, we raise awareness and speak about how we can have real impact on some of society’s most pressing issues,” explains Team Leader Travis Spencer. “DABT allows us to focus on societal issues that our team cares about passionately. As part of the global community, through our DABT program, we harness the power of our teams across the world to have a very real, positive impact on communities in need.”
Spencer does not exaggerate. Last year, the DABT roster promoted programs in Mexico, India, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The year before that (during COVID), they partnered with nearby Dearborn High School, covering issues around COVID masking, testing, food inequality, etc., while still bringing global attention to issues of child trafficking and poverty. Challenging issues all, but DABT planners and participants wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We are committed to making a difference,” explains Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Manager Brian Lloyd. “We leverage the passion and concerns of our teams and whatever the issue, if we can have a positive impact, we address it and try to lead our teams as they live by our mission of building a better world.”
Splitting the program equally with Ford’s Sustainability Team, the Supplier Diversity Team works closely with Sustainability to ensure the program and subsequent outreach is cohesive and optimally effective. To some, that might sound like a feel-good exercise. But the team takes quite a different perspective.
Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Analyst LaTara Brown adds, “We also discussed eradicating child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 50% of the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC and much of it is mined by children as young as 7 years old! It’s dangerous and it robs children of their childhood and sometimes their lives. Cobalt is a vital component for battery technology, so this problem isn’t going away. So, we featured the Good Shepherd International project to eradicate child labor in the DRC.”
Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Business Analyst Sanaa Saad agrees. She adds, “DABT is a forum where we discuss major issues and highlight the heroes of society who dedicate their time and resources to make the world a better place. While we seek to educate, we also want to move people to action. If we get people in tears from watching the video, then we know we’re on track. We put a survey out every year and last year we received a 90% positive rating. And there were a lot of tears.”
Choosing topics to focus on starts with a brainstorming session where each team member volunteers issues important to her/him/them. After much discussion and debate, the team whittles the list from 10 topics to three. The Sustainability Team mirrors this process. Once complete, the teams merge, discuss the topics further, and then vote. A majority vote ultimately determines where the teams will direct their passions. And passions often carry the day.
“We have a very creative, aspirational group,” adds Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Business Analyst Vincent Tucker. “We pull all of this off with very limited resources. And we’re lucky to be a part of this team, as we really get to make a difference in the world. Not everyone gets to do that at work. It’s extremely rewarding.”
Spencer focuses greatly on making the issues real to their Ford audience, connecting them emotionally and motivating participation. For example, last year’s video illustrates its success through a graduate of Ford’s education/mentoring/literacy program in Mexico who now serves as a plant manager at Ford’s Mustang Mach-E plant—a compelling achievement.
Spencer sums things up by pointing out that, “No one told us we had to do this; we want to. I mean, our team has even featured our own children and relatives in the videos to make these tough subjects more relatable and to drive home the point that global is local. Diversity is more than just about the spend. And this is our way of addressing what’s really happening behind the spend.”
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