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17 April 2019

Turning the tide, together: Disability inclusion at Ford

By Noorain Khan

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion

At the Ford Foundation, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of who we are. We are committed to these values across all of our work around the world.

We believe that when funders make diversity, equity, and inclusion central to their missions, philanthropy has greater impact. That’s because having varied perspectives helps generate better ideas to solve the complex problems of a changing—and increasingly diverse—world.

We’re infusing these values throughout our internal culture, systems, and practices. While doing so is a responsibility all staff share, we’ve also created a task force to help us think in a more focused way about how we advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the foundation.

 

What do we mean by diversity, equity, and inclusion?

These concepts mean many things to many people. To us…

Diversity is the representation of all our varied identities and differences (race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, tribe, caste, socio-economic status, thinking and communication styles, etc.), collectively and as individuals. We seek to proactively engage, understand, and draw on a variety of perspectives. We believe that the solution to the problems we hope to address through our grant making can be found by affirming our similarities, as well as by finding value in our differences.

Equity seeks to ensure fair treatment, equality of opportunity, and fairness in access to information and resources for all. We believe this is only possible in an environment built on respect and dignity.

Inclusion builds a culture of belonging by actively inviting the contribution and participation of all people. We believe every person’s voice adds value, and we strive to create balance in the face of power differences. We believe that no one person can or should be called upon to represent an entire community.


2018 Diversity and Inclusion Update

In the charts below, "Croner" references a survey of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices conducted by The Croner Company and sponsored by Ford Foundation. 33 large foundations with assets greater than $2 billion were invited to participate. 16 submitted data.

 

The Ford Foundation, by gender

All Staff

All Staff Bar Chart

Show as text
  Female Male
2013 61% 39%
2014 58% 42%
2015 58% 42%
2016 58% 42%
2017 58% 42%
Croner 68% 32%

Trustees

Trustees Bar Chart

Show as text
  Female Male
2013 36% 64%
2014 36% 64%
2015 40% 60%
2016 45% 55%
2017 50% 50%
Croner 47% 53%
     

Executive Leadership Team

Executive Leadership Team Bar Chart

Show as text
  Female Male
2013 22% 78%
2014 22% 78%
2015 22% 78%
2016 22% 78%
2017 22% 78%

Directors

Directors Bar Chart

Show as text
  Female Male
2013 47% 53%
2014 50% 50%
2015 53% 47%
2016 61% 39%
2017 53% 47%

Program Officers

Program Officers Bar Chart

Show as text
  Female Male
2013 63% 37%
2014 65% 35%
2015 64% 36%
2016 61% 39%
2017 66% 34%
Croner 72% 28%

The Ford Foundation, by Race and Ethnicity (US only)

All Staff

All Staff Bar Chart

Show as text
  White Black or
African American
Asian Hispanic or Latino Two or More Races Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
2013 52% 16% 18% 11% 3%  
2014 50% 16% 19% 11% 4%  
2015 47% 18% 20% 11% 4%  
2016 47% 18% 19% 12% 4%  
2017 47% 18% 18% 13% 3% 1%
Croner 70% 9% 12% 6% 3%  

Executive Leadership Team

Executive Leadership Team Bar Chart

Show as text
  White Black or African American Hispanic or Latino Two or More Races
2013 44% 12% 44%  
2014 67% 11% 11% 11%
2015 67% 11% 11% 11%
2016 67% 11% 11% 11%
2017 67% 11% 11% 11%

Directors

Directors Bar Chart

Show as text
  White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino
2013 74% 13% 9% 4%
2014 69% 12% 12% 7%
2015 55% 21% 17% 7%
2016 53% 26% 18% 3%
2017 55% 24% 18% 3%

Program Officers

Program Officers Bar Chart

Show as text
  White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino Two or More Races Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
2013 29% 21% 21% 16% 13%  
2014 31% 23% 15% 19% 12%  
2015 33% 20% 16% 20% 11%  
2016 31% 19% 19% 19% 12%  
2017 30% 18% 18% 19% 10% 5%
Croner 61% 15% 10% 8% 4% 1%

Operations Managers

Operations Bar Chart

Show as text
  White Black or African American Asian Hispanic or Latino
2013 56% 8% 28% 8%
2014 60% 8% 28% 4%
2015 63% 10% 22% 5%
2016 65% 5% 22% 8%
2017 64% 8% 24% 4%
Croner 75% 4% 13% 5%

So what are we doing?

We have taken a number of concrete steps to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our grant making and internal systems.

For example:

  • We’re embarking on a global diversity, equity, and inclusion audit of our global policies, practices and procedures, starting in the fall of 2017.
  • We’re learning about best practices for achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion, and sharing that knowledge with everyone at the foundation.
  • We’re strengthening our ability to recruit and retain exemplary, diverse staff and leadership.
  • To ensure parity, we periodically review compensation levels for all staff across various dimensions of diversity.
  • We hire consultants and vendors that reflect our commitment to diversity and inclusion. For example, to manage the extensive renovation of our New York City headquarters, we hired Henegan Construction Company, a woman-owned business that actively engages other enterprises owned and operated by minorities, women, and people with disabilities.
  • We work to ensure that people of all abilities can access and engage with foundation resources and information.
  • Our grant making favors organizations and institutions with a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • We support efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion practices across the philanthropy sector more broadly.

Necessarily, strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion across the foundation is an ongoing process—and so our work in these areas continues to evolve and grow into new areas.

2018 Trustee & Employee Diversity Update Cover

Download PDF to read full report

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