VF Corp. released the second edition of its VF Global Inclusion & Diversity Annual Profile.  The report is public for the first time. A snapshot from the 37-page report includes the following:

  • 55 percent of it’s U.S. employees are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color), up 7 percent since it started tracking metrics in 2015;
  • BIPOC representation in new U.S. hires remains consistent at about 57 percent over the prior year;
  • BIPOC employees at the Director-level and above is at 15 percent;
  • Women represent 50 percent of VF’s global workforce with representation consistent at over 50 percent since VF started tracking metrics in 2015;
  • Women working at the Director-level and above increased from 35 percent to 38 percent in 2019, the highest level of women working at this level since VF started tracking metrics in 2015 — a worldwide increase with the U.S. and Canada expanding from 37 percent to 41 percent

Steve Rendle, chairman, president and chief executive officer and Reginald Miller, vice president, global inclusion & diversity, wrote at the start of the report:

“Welcome to the second edition of our VF Global Inclusion & Diversity Annual Profile. We want to take this opportunity to thank our associates for their continued efforts in helping us advance this important work as we elevate our purposeled, performance-driven commitment.

“VF is striving to build and maintain a highly inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our associates. We are excited to share how we have leveraged our global Inclusion & Diversity strategy as a thoughtful roadmap to guide the daily actions of our nearly 50,000 associates worldwide over the past 12 months.

“While we are incredibly proud of the significant strides made thus far, we know there is more work to be done, which is why we are evolving our efforts into a 10-year strategy that will further advance VF’s commitment to diversity.

“Our new journey will rebrand VF’s Inclusion & Diversity strategy to align with our Free to Be purpose territory. This territory places an emphasis on belonging and will allow associates to bring their true selves to a work environment where they feel welcome and can thrive.

“Our new direction will require each of us to take deliberate actions to ensure VF is a leader that embraces inclusion and is viewed as an employer of choice. We know that by continuing to act in thoughtful ways, we will have the greatest impact on our associates, consumers, and the local communities we serve.”

Read the full report here.

Illustration courtesy The Queen’s Journal/Alison Andrade