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Will diversity pledges be followed by results?

Written by Tom Ryan

Sources: Gap, Levi Strauss & Co., Nordstrom, Under Armour

A number of retailers and brands made diversity pledges when the #MeToo movement gained momentum in 2017 and recently they’ve upgraded and amplified those commitments in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
  • Gap has pledged that by 2025 it will double Black and Latinx employees “at all levels in our U.S. HQ offices” and increase representation of Black employees in store leader roles by 50 percent. 
  • Levi’s pledged to fill a position it calls “head of diversity, inclusion, and belonging,” to add a Black person to the board of directors and to strive to have 50 percent of candidates interviewing for open jobs to be people of color. 
  • Nordstrom promised to “increase demographic diversity in our corporate and all leadership positions to better reflect the North American population.”
  • Under Armour committed to ensuring 12 percent of its employees at the director level or higher are Black.
  • Adidas pledged to ensure that at least 30 percent of all new U.S. jobs are filled with Black and Latino people at its Adidas and Reebok brands.
The pledges often came along with substantial donations to Black causes, as well as commitments to education and career development programs for minorities, unconscious bias training for all employees and inclusion workshops. Many organizations are promising to listen better to the concerns of underrepresented employee groups. John Donahoe, Nike’s CEO since the year’s start, said in an employee memo in mid-June, “As I have listened deeply during my first six months and over the past few weeks, what I have learned is that many have felt a disconnect between our external brand and your internal experience. You have told me that we have not consistently supported, recognized and celebrated our own Black teammates in a manner they deserve. This needs to change.” The New York Times reported on a movement to tie executive pay to fulfilling diversity goals. The reset commitments around diversity come as women in recent years have made progress improving executive and board representation, while racial diversity remains a challenge.

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