Policy Is Not Enough...

08.01.2021News From Ford

With every single step we take in our long-standing history of 60 years, we bring both our industry and our country to the future. As Ford Otosan, we are taking these steps as one. We guarantee our goals for equality with our policies. We make these policies public on our website. Equality at Work Statement, Diversity Policy, Human Rights Policy... We know that our responsibility is not limited to these, and we also know that policies should be supported by practice.

Our compass always points in the direction of equality. Because if we are to achieve our goals as one, we are aware that we will reach our goals with the steps each of us takes; regardless of gender, religion, language, race, or disability. In this direction, supporting our business environment, corporate culture, and business manner with the principles of diversity and inclusion; we strive to provide a work environment based on equal opportunity respectful to differences and ethical values. Playing an active role to balance the number of workers belonging to disadvantaged groups in order to make the Turkish automotive industry inclusive; we make an effort to provide creative outcomes from differences, increase organizational wealth and actively manage diversity. In line with our Diversity Policy, which we launched in 2019, we observe "equality and diversity principles" not only in our suppliers and dealers but also in other stakeholders; and we are attentive to cooperate with institutions that support these principles.

We are taking firm steps towards the equality aspect of our compass with the projects we have implemented in line with our Equality at Work Statement, Diversity Policy, Human Rights Policy. Let's take a closer look at these steps.

Equality in Opportunity to Participate in the Workforce

We believe that every individual in the community will add value from different angles when appropriate and supportive conditions are provided. In line with this belief, we create awareness and develop projects in order to break prejudices. We analyze our business processes in a way to incorporate the differences, and we include disadvantaged groups for the positions deemed appropriate as a result of these analyses. In this context, we continue our program we have initiated for the first time in Turkey and in the world; regarding the employment and personal development of individuals with autism and down syndrome for dangerous jobs in the industry. Our assembly team at our Yeniköy Factory participated in sign language training and received their certificates in order to remove the barriers in between while working. We tailor our factories and offices to become disabled-friendly. In this context, in line with the goals we set, we work together with the disabled associations.

"The We in the Mirror" Workshops

We also started to organize workshops for our female colleagues working in offices; which we have initiated with our female colleagues working in production in 2015.

Our aim with these workshops is to educate our female colleagues for all possible problems they may encounter in business life; including sexual harassment and mobbing; by making the correct definitions, directing the correct application addresses, and creating an environment of interaction where everyone holds the floor to feel that they are not alone.

UP School

As part of our collaboration with the Young Guru Academy (YGA), we aim to increase the employment of women. We designed an 8-week free UP School education of “Data Analysis, Visualization, and Storytelling” to reach women candidates who would like to improve their skills in different fields.

UP School; an educational technology venture established to raise role model female leaders in technology; facilitates women to start their careers with sound and firm steps by providing them with technical equipment together with a competency to succeed.

As Ford Otosan, we aim to support female candidates who would like to improve their skills in different fields, gain technical knowledge and abilities; as well as to offer job opportunities to candidates who successfully complete this program.

"Leaders of the Field" Development Program

With this program which includes female field workers in our company, we aim to increase the employment of women in production, to contribute to the development of our colleagues, and to have equal representation of female candidates during appointment/promotion processes.

We ensure that our female engineer team leaders share their knowledge, skills, and experience they have gained in their career and business life with female Working Group Leaders and Team Leaders in the field; in order to bring in leaders to production along with this program. In addition, we provide the necessary support to help our female leaders in the field reach the resources they may need for their personal and professional development, to strengthen their self-confidence by getting to know themselves, and to reveal their leadership potential.

In order to ensure the sustainability of women who are appointed as field leaders, we organize women's workshops and try to eliminate the psycho-social factors we have identified during this process.

I have a job and I have hope

With this project, which we created within the scope of the 2020 Social Development Support Program (SOGEP) of the Directorate of National Education, we aim to include into business life the disadvantaged groups such as; senior students who are about to graduate from vocational high schools, young people looking for a job, citizens who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 or the effects of the digitalization of the industry.

Along with this project, we carry out jointly with Kocaeli Chamber of Industry, Kocaeli Provincial Directorate of Labor and Employment Agency, and Kocaeli Provincial Directorate of Family Labor and Social Services; we prioritize contributing to open occupational areas for 18 months, especially to the rate of increase in the employment of women in the region; by training trainees consisting of disadvantaged individuals to become qualified and well-equipped and by reducing unemployment, social problems, the anxiety of social security and adaptation of these groups in social life through activities and supporting the increase in the rate of employment of women in the region.

Parenting Education

With this program, we enable our colleagues who are preparing to have a baby or already have children (0-18 years old) to develop their parenting skills and to consciously manage the difficulties they encounter throughout the development of their children. We provide guidance to our colleagues on equalitarian child-rearing and creating an equalitarian home environment.

Along with this project, which we carry out jointly with the educators of Marmara Pedagogy and Psychological Counselling Centre, we continue to support all individuals who already are or planning to become a mother or father, in the context of equality.

Caring Fatherhood Club

We care that fathers take equal responsibility with the mother in the childcare process, with the awareness that equality should be not only in the workplace but also in our homes. In the workshops where we explain the contributions of a healthy father-child relationship to a child's development, we underline that childcare is not just a task coded for mothers.

We Stand by Biological Families And Foster Families

There is always equality in the routes of both companies and individuals. When so, of course, the things to do are unlimited. In our company, we constantly review all our HR processes, with the priority of having equal rights and opportunities for everyone.

When we received the news that a colleague had opened the doors of both his home and heart to the fullest as a foster family to a child in need of a home environment; we thought if there is no difference in love between the foster family and the biological family, there should be no difference in the procedures; so we provided parental rights in the same way with equal opportunities.

Collaborations in which We Support Gender Equality Together with Our Suppliers

Volunteer instructors consisting of our colleagues gave seminars on gender equality to our suppliers and they carried these seminars all around Turkey through our dealers. In addition to these efforts, we organized pieces of training in cooperation with AÇEV to also train volunteer trainers among our suppliers. When our suppliers completed their internal training, we reached a total of 30 thousand more people. The most important output of this work has been the increase in the number of female employees working for our suppliers.

We continue to share the best practices of this 3-year project regarding gender equality, which has been going on together with our suppliers. Because we take responsibility as promised in article 13 of our Diversity Policy, and take an active role in balancing the number of women working in the automotive industry.

We believe that with all these steps we take, we will be at an equal distance to the future, our vision, a healthy society, and a balanced work environment. We say "Policy Is Not Enough!" for a beautiful future that we all deserve and we take a step as one...