Eye on Retail: Macy’s commits to diversity goal
Macy’s on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious initiative to become a more diversified and inclusive organization.
The department store giant announced a five-point program designed to ensure the company reflects the diversity of the customers and communities it serves. As part of the initiative, Macy’s set a goal of achieving 30% ethnic diversity by 2025 at the senior director level and above. To help it achieve the goal, the retailer has launched MOSAIC, a 12-month program designed to strengthen leadership skills for a selected group of top-talent managers and directors of Black/African-American, Hispanic-Latino, Native American and Asian descent.
“There is a direct correlation between diverse and inclusive workplaces and strong business outcomes,” the company stated.
In addition, Macy’s has updated its customer bill of rights, which will be in every Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s store by the start of the 2019 holiday season. The document declares that discrimination, unreasonable searches and profiling will not be tolerated, and provides new direction on how customers can report incidents in Macy’s stores. The company said it has also launched inclusive workplace training to ensure its 130,000 associates understand how to identify and mitigate bias when interacting with customers and each other.
“At Macy’s, diversity and inclusion are essential to our culture and core values,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy’s. “Our mission is to embed D&I into how we think, act, and operate by fostering an inclusive culture and an environment that inspires, reflects, and embraces everyone. We hope the steps we are taking will encourage others to reaffirm their commitments to inclusion for all.”
The other components of Macy’s new inclusion initiative are outlined below.
• Macy’s will require 50% representation of gender/gender identity, ethnicity, age, size and differently-abled subjects in its advertising by 2020.
“The company’s goal is to consistently and genuinely reflect all customers,” Macy’s stated. “This begins by changing the way models are cast, increasing diverse representation in vendor-provided imagery, and increasing representation among hired stylists, photographers, directors, producers, agencies, content providers and event partners.”
• To drive growth with under-represented suppliers, the retailer has set a goal of a diverse supplier spend of at least 5% by 2021. The company’s supplier diversity program is designed to connect suppliers that are more ethnically diverse, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ-owned businesses to opportunities within Macy’s by ensuring they are integrated into merchandising and business development strategies.
• In 2019, Macy’s will launch economic development partnerships in at least five cities in collaboration with its business accelerators – The Workshop at Macy’s, The Market @ Macy’s, and Story.
Macy’s on Tuesday also published its fiscal 2018 corporate sustainability report and 2025 Sustainable Stewardship Goals. The said it is committed to creating a more sustainable future by achieving meaningful progress against Sustainable Stewardship Goals in critical areas including energy, waste & recycling, materials & fibers, chemical management, products, sourcing, transparency and diversity.
The 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report is available for download on macysinc.com.
For more information on diversity and inclusion at Macy’s, Inc., visit macysinc.com/social-responsibility/diversity-inclusion.
The department store giant announced a five-point program designed to ensure the company reflects the diversity of the customers and communities it serves. As part of the initiative, Macy’s set a goal of achieving 30% ethnic diversity by 2025 at the senior director level and above. To help it achieve the goal, the retailer has launched MOSAIC, a 12-month program designed to strengthen leadership skills for a selected group of top-talent managers and directors of Black/African-American, Hispanic-Latino, Native American and Asian descent.
“There is a direct correlation between diverse and inclusive workplaces and strong business outcomes,” the company stated.
In addition, Macy’s has updated its customer bill of rights, which will be in every Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s store by the start of the 2019 holiday season. The document declares that discrimination, unreasonable searches and profiling will not be tolerated, and provides new direction on how customers can report incidents in Macy’s stores. The company said it has also launched inclusive workplace training to ensure its 130,000 associates understand how to identify and mitigate bias when interacting with customers and each other.
“At Macy’s, diversity and inclusion are essential to our culture and core values,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy’s. “Our mission is to embed D&I into how we think, act, and operate by fostering an inclusive culture and an environment that inspires, reflects, and embraces everyone. We hope the steps we are taking will encourage others to reaffirm their commitments to inclusion for all.”
The other components of Macy’s new inclusion initiative are outlined below.
• Macy’s will require 50% representation of gender/gender identity, ethnicity, age, size and differently-abled subjects in its advertising by 2020.
“The company’s goal is to consistently and genuinely reflect all customers,” Macy’s stated. “This begins by changing the way models are cast, increasing diverse representation in vendor-provided imagery, and increasing representation among hired stylists, photographers, directors, producers, agencies, content providers and event partners.”
• To drive growth with under-represented suppliers, the retailer has set a goal of a diverse supplier spend of at least 5% by 2021. The company’s supplier diversity program is designed to connect suppliers that are more ethnically diverse, women-, veteran- and LGBTQ-owned businesses to opportunities within Macy’s by ensuring they are integrated into merchandising and business development strategies.
• In 2019, Macy’s will launch economic development partnerships in at least five cities in collaboration with its business accelerators – The Workshop at Macy’s, The Market @ Macy’s, and Story.
Macy’s on Tuesday also published its fiscal 2018 corporate sustainability report and 2025 Sustainable Stewardship Goals. The said it is committed to creating a more sustainable future by achieving meaningful progress against Sustainable Stewardship Goals in critical areas including energy, waste & recycling, materials & fibers, chemical management, products, sourcing, transparency and diversity.
The 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report is available for download on macysinc.com.
For more information on diversity and inclusion at Macy’s, Inc., visit macysinc.com/social-responsibility/diversity-inclusion.