The most senior positions in the British fashion industry are still largely held by white men, according to a new report. While this may seem like old news, the business case for ensuring the workforce is more reflective of society is perhaps made less regularly.
The first Fashion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) report released today reveals that only 9% of executive positions, which include chief executive officer, chief financial officer, president and creative director positions, and 11% of so-called power roles are held by people of color. 39% of executive teams and 24% of positions of power are occupied by women.
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He points out that a diverse workforce across industries “improves decision-making by up to 87% – as a result of broad perspectives,” which “nurtures results.” It reveals that diverse businesses are 39% more likely to outperform financially, while improving DEI is important for companies looking to attract talent; “39% of global job seekers [having] rejected or decided not to seek employment due to perceived lack of participation.
Additionally, consumers are increasingly choosing to use their spending power with companies they believe reflect their values, with nearly 50% of millennials saying it is “important or very important to choose brands with a gender equality stance.”
“The challenge now is to reposition DEI as a business imperative and a lever for profitability and financial success,” says Jamie Gill, founder of Outsiders Perspective, a nonprofit incubator for people of color in fashion. wrote the report. He argues that DEI should not be sidelined in the current turbulent economic climate. “Having the right people around the table, having fresh perspectives from all walks of life, is what we really need to look at,” he says.
The report, which is also the work of the British Fashion Council, (Fashion) Minority Report and McKinsey & Company, comes at a time when diversity in the industry is under renewed scrutiny following the appointment of Seán McGirr to replace Sarah Burton. He started working as creative director at Alexander McQueen in October. No one questioned his talent, but his appointment meant that all creative director positions at Kering, the luxury conglomerate that owned McQueen, were held by white men. It also follows Paris men’s fashion week, which featured some of the liveliest, most interesting shows of the work of designers Martine Rose and Grace Wales Bonner, both women of color.
We were saying that humanity was needed, but this did not come true either.
Jamie Gill
The need for greater diversity and inclusion goes deeper than business, but Gill says: “We haven’t moved the needle in the last three and a half years, since the issue was brought onto the world stage… What we’re saying is: humanity is needed and it hasn’t arrived yet.”
The report also reveals a mismatch of beliefs about diversity and inclusion in the industry. In illuminating but perhaps unsurprising numbers, 86% of white men in the industry believe it is diverse, while only 46% of women of color believe the same is true.
The report highlights that fashion has made some progress in what it calls “extrovert” contexts, namely catwalk representation, but this is less true when it comes to boardrooms and workplaces.
“We really want to highlight and to some extent celebrate that the fashion industry as a collective has played an integral role in changing our marketing. Our outdoor space has become very diverse, very representative – catwalks, advertising campaigns, events are very inclusive and representative; This is amazing and shows how quickly we can accelerate this change in a short period of time when we focus on it. .” Now he says: “We need to look inwards because there’s a huge disconnect around the workforce and moving it forward.”
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To shift the dial, the report emphasizes the importance of leadership by emphasizing the need for company executives to set diversity goals; research shows that a commitment to action at the board level is likely to bring change.
Gaps in the data also need to be filled. “We as an industry do not collect our data,” says Gill. According to the report, there is a particular lack of data on LGBTQIA+, neurodiversity, socioeconomic background, size, age, religion and gender. Gill sees this report as a call to action “to collect this data from all underrepresented groups.”
“Fashion is a leader. We are an industry that is a leader in everything, and right now we are not a leader in this regard,” says Gill.