Ford's new racial equity director, Angela Henderson, tackles 'elephant in the room'

Phoebe Wall Howard
Detroit Free Press

Angela Henderson is a product of Detroit who has traveled the world, and she understands racial differences and the importance of helping people feel safe at work.

Sometimes sensitive conversations create controversy and misunderstanding, she said.

Her job is to change the landscape as racial equity director at Ford Motor Co.

"I'm Black all day," Henderson told the Free Press. "I can't turn my Blackness off because I'm at work. Issues affecting people in my community affect me in one way, shape or form. If no one is acknowledging I may be distracted by those things, I can't show up and do my work properly. It can harness resentment."

She officially began her new role in January as part of the automaker's global initiative to identify and dismantle the gaps that Ford discovered exist along what the company sees as an employee journey from recruitment to development and retention. 

Ford Motor Company Racial Equity Director Angela Henderson in downtown Detroit during an April snowstorm on April 20, 2021.

"I've been at Ford for over 20 years and this has never been something we've talked about as a company," Henderson said. "People are going to say every word except for Black. We're finding once Ford made the step, that we said we're going to actually talk about this big elephant in the room and find ways to remove racism as much as we can within our scope of control, I think employees have changed. We're still evolving. But we've never had these conversations." 

Toxic element

At Ford, racism is viewed less as an issue of social concern than a core priority that's considered a workplace toxin.

The Dearborn automaker decided to create this new role as a byproduct of discussions had with salaried employees since July. At that time, the company launched what it called an "audit" of 188,000 salaried and hourly employees to better understand attitudes about diversity.

The audit involved employees from the factory floor to executive suites in an attempt to address institutional bias and issues that may hinder employee performance, company officials confirmed to the Free Press at the time. 

After the audit, human resources executives noticed that Black and Hispanic employees were "suffering the most" in certain areas, that more support is needed, that they feel like leadership doesn't understand what's happening.

"These are people who, maybe, it wasn't a great feeling being promoted. They were just told 'Go' without support," Henderson said.  

Managers are part of this effort, too. And evaluations of the project will be done in 30-day review periods until June.

Sunflowers bloom near the Ford World Headquarters on Michigan Avenue  in Dearborn honor the memory of a Puerto Rican classmate of Bill Ford who died.

More:These sunflowers in Dearborn have personal meaning for Bill Ford

More:Ford reports net income of $3.3B for first three months of 2021, warns about 2Q

"I believe the audit is very necessary because I think if you would ask different people at different levels they have a different perspective of where we stand," said Linda Cash, an industrial engineer who went from being a plant manager of the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to Ford's top female Black executive as vice president, quality and new model launch program before retiring this year.

Her words proved prophetic.

Daughter of a forklift driver

Ford turned to Henderson, 47, who was born and raised in Highland Park. She is one of six Chaney children reared by "run-of-the-mill folks — a homemaker and a hi-lo driver for Coca-Cola."

She is the first in the family to earn a four-year college degree, an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member from Marygrove College in Detroit, and then an MBA from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield with high honors. She now lives in Bloomfield Hills with her husband and four children.

Ford Motor Company Racial Equity Director Angela Henderson in downtown Detroit during an April snowstorm on April 20, 2021.

While Henderson has worked at Ford more than two decades in manufacturing, product development and global purchasing, her expertise included supplier diversity, which she led from 2017-19. She also served on the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last summer, Henderson became a leading voice within the company as it evaluated social justice issues and how to manage issues as they unfolded, said Marisa Bradley, Ford internal communications director.

More:Ford is auditing 188,000 employees: What it's asking

More:Ford employees ask if company should stop building police vehicles

"When you have the opportunity to talk about those things that everyone thought was taboo, when we give the opportunity for people to have these conversations, you humanize your co-workers," Henderson said.

In the coming weeks, under the leadership of Henderson and created with more 30 employee volunteers from across the company representing various backgrounds, Ford will begin piloting solutions to reduce bias and improve the employee experience.

The first pilot is focused on newly promoted employee transitions and improved performance feedback, to be first tested with Black and Hispanic employees in the U.S., before being refined and launched fully across the company. The issue is not just real concern about fair and equitable treatment but also perception of unfairness, which can inhibit excellence.

When people feel they can't be themselves at work, Henderson said, "You have subconsciously started transforming into someone else. You're a split personality; one person at home and one person at work. We found we can no longer be two different people. We're in each other's homes every day now. You're seeing me."

Working remotely brings employees into private homes during Zoom calls, like this Detroit City Planning Commission meeting on February 4, 2021. This unexpected personal element in the workplace has led to new discussions at Ford Motor Co.

Remote work and use of Zoom have changed what colleagues see and hear and, in many ways, revealed an intimacy new to colleagues who never saw how or where people lived. In some ways, it spotlights differences. 

When anti-Asian attacks dominate the news or another Black teenager is shot, those events impact workers and their ability to concentrate completely at work, she said. It's like having tragedy happening to a son or daughter or husband or wife or sister or brother — and coming to work the next day.

A man holds a portrait on Feb. 20, 2021 of an 84-year-old man who died after being shoved to the ground in San Francisco as part of a string of anti-Asian violence. Ford and other companies find these events are impacting workers and discussions helps ease anxiety that impacts work.

"Our leadership is talking about this during our global town halls now. Our CEO," Henderson said. "It's very refreshing. It gets everyone to listen and understand and become aware of unconscious bias. We are seeing with our ears and hearing with our eyes. This is switching to heightened awareness."

Lessons from the past

Ford has been stung by its history involving race and ethnicity issues.

"The most controversial and least admirable aspect of (Henry) Ford’s career was his descent into anti-Semitism," according to the Henry Ford museum website. "Convinced that 'bankers' and 'the Jews' were responsible for a whole range of things he didn’t like, from the world war to short skirts to jazz music, Ford used his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, to carry on an active anti-Semitic campaign. Between 1920 and 1922 a series of articles denounced all things Jewish. While officially apologizing for the articles in 1927, Ford’s anti-Jewish sentiments ran deep."

More:How Henry Ford's anti-Semitism stings in 2019

"Ford hired Edwin G. Pipp from The Detroit News to serve as editor," the Henry Ford site said. "Agents went door-to-door selling subscriptions, and Ford Motor Company pressured car dealers to buy multiple subscriptions and hand out copies to customers. The newspaper was popular, and circulation reached 900,000 in 1926."

More recently, Ford has paid millions to settle racial and sexual harassment charges that stemmed from — but weren't limited to — an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The New York Times did a story on problems at the Chicago Assembly Plant in 2017 that inspired then-CEO Jim Hackett to go apologize in person in 2018 and launch an anti-harassment campaign while committing publicly to a safe workplace.

'True selves'

Ford is unique in its approach to a crucial business challenge in the workplace in 2021, said Melissa Bradley, a business professor at Georgetown University. 

The company is obviously willing to recognize issues that are having a personal impact on their employees and workplace productivity, she said.

“Kudos to Ford for allowing people to show up as their true selves and have a safe space which, research shows, will ultimately drive a business case for increased profitability, stronger governance and better problem solving,” Bradley said. “A Boston Consulting study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.” 

Political activism has raised awareness and, for some, created feelings of conflict and stress that carries into the workplace.

Part of the goal at Ford is to create a stronger company that reflects the best of society, a strategy that thoughtfully creates a safe environment for all employees — who reflect our racially, ethnically and culturally diverse world, Ford said.

Test project on race

What Henderson is attempting to do isn't trivial; she knows that if she can influence people at work then they'll practice and share what they learn at home and out in the world, too.

"Corporations have this huge responsibility. We're trying to identify where systemic racism exists and try to dismantle it. As we interact with our people, our customers, our supply chain. It's the way we show up. That is how empathy is built," she said, "when you have the opportunity to talk about those things that everyone thought was taboo."

Real and perceived experiences of racism and bigotry in non-work situations an inhibit employee performance. Saline  made national news when at a parent meeting on diversity and inclusion in 2020 involved a parent using racist language.

A goal is to inspire Ford employees to be more intentional about inclusivity. 

"These times are completely transformational and disruptive," Henderson said. "We are challenging how we think. I have been educating myself along this journey, challenging my own biases."

Using language about people with disabilities and how colleagues see themselves and watch how they're treated by others impacts job performance, she said. People may be using closed caption or sign language and you don't realize that talking quickly is actually making a workday more difficult, Henderson said.

"I'm a lot more conscious of how I speak now," she said.

More:'Our world needs more Black attorneys': Program aims to add diversity

'We all belong'

This is about creating a measurable program that builds support around diverse employees and a safe avenue for feedback to help with success upon promotion, to make it OK to discuss observations about treatment and sensitive issues.

A mural in memory of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at East 8 Mile Road and John R Street in Detroit on April 23, 2021.

"We found that opening up the door for folks who didn't know what to say, who may feel people don't care about them, is critical," Henderson said. "Now, in some meetings, we do a check-in and go around and just allow people to talk and then we get down to business. This is about caring for each other, really just being there and showing we all belong."

"I personally don't believe in the term 'diversity candidate,'" Henderson said. "Everyone is a diversity candidate with different experiences. But we're seeing a deficit in experience for Black and Hispanic employees especially. That's why we're testing this specific group."

This whole thing is about inclusion, because there are people who have had bad experiences when they try to share concerns and people who need more support, Henderson said. "We're trying to do work that's sustainable. This is about feeling like belonging. What was OK 35 years ago is not OK today, and I've been here over 20 years. I've had amazing leaders and OK leaders and so-so leaders. Equity is important so we can all get what we need to have career fulfillment."

Ford is a 118-year-old family company, she said. "People say we're like a family and that's real. We want to leverage that."

More:Ford workers will see few personal desks upon return, buildings to be sold

More:Ford employee gets asked for winning lottery numbers, palm readings

Day of Understanding 

On Thursday at 9 a.m., an estimated 188,000 Ford employees globally were invited to participate virtually in a company town hall for a Day of Understanding.

It included a keynote address by Bryant Marks titled: "The Hidden Bias of Good People," with a discussion about unconscious bias that all people have.

Freda Sampson, former director of diversity and inclusion for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, was scheduled to talk at lunchtime on caring for each other "through the chaos."

A protester is holds a sign and shouts "Say their names" in front of the Michigan Central Station in Detroit, Saturday, May 30, 2020.

Topics led by Henderson will cover how to change every day behavior that contributes to systems of oppression, what it looks like to be an ally in the workplace and tips from a psychologist about building empathy.

An average of 25,000 employees attend these forums, company data shows.

"We can be more aware of things we didn't look at before," Henderson said.

More:Feds had enough dirt on UAW to take over the union. He helped save it

More:Winchester’s Whiskey and Bourbon Room debuts on Mackinac Island

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512 orphoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.