To promote understanding of Ford policy supporting diversity and inclusion, and practice of hiring, training, and promoting the best qualified individuals, without regard to their sexual orientation. To advocate for mandatory diversity awareness training—specific to sexual orientation and gender identity issues—presented to all Ford employees and contractees and conducted by qualified, sensitive trainers. This kind of message of marginalization leads people to feel unwelcome, and that is decidedly un-OneFord. You can be fired for being gay in 28 states. Michigan offers very limited protection to municipal employees.
At 85, he is enjoying a comfortable and contented retirement with his husband, Eric Jirgens, after decades of struggling with being a closeted Ford Motor Company executive in the s and s, then leaving the company, and later returning in the early s as one of the first openly gay corporate executives in America. His career traces the arc of gay liberation in corporate America, and today he looks back on an epoch of enormous change both in his own life and in the nation. When he talks about his years as a secretly gay executive, he tells colorful stories, with droll, self-effacing anecdotes. When the conversation shifts to his life as an out executive, he becomes more guarded, carefully crafting his responses. Allan Gilmour at his home in Birmingham, Michigan, in June On the surface, he appears to have lived a charmed life.
Ford Motor Company's support of Gay and Lesbian causes-Truth!
Fox News reported that Ford was the only automaker to receive the top score. Among the controversial steps taken by the company:. Before he retired, Gilmour was chairman of the Ford Motor Company Fund through which gifts to homosexual organizations are made. Ford has consistently sponsored these types of events. The company donated a red Mustang Cobra convertible to the Michigan Gay Pride March, becoming the first auto manufacturer to donate a vehicle.
Ford released a statement confirming that they will continue to support LGBT groups and events, and that Ford will increase its advertising presence in LGBT publications. The controversy started Dec. We are pleased with where we are. Ford executives claimed that pulling the ads was strictly a business decision.