Companies such as Skechers USA are being called out for their lack of diversity in the boardroom.
While some businesses are trying to appease shareholders by claiming they will put new policies in place to encourage diversity, few have acted.
So where do we stand in terms of creating a more diverse retail industry? The RTP editors share their thoughts below:
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Debbie Hauss, Editor-In-Chief: Maybe when we have our first female president, there will begin to be more diversity in board rooms? It does continue to amaze me that in 2014 there’s still a severe lack of minority and female business and government leaders throughout our nation. It’s still a world where people are judged negatively if they don’t fit into a certain persona. So hats off to those who have beaten the odds and are setting good examples for those who will follow.
Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor: Very few women still have leadership / C-level positions in the retail world. However, with Jan Singer taking the helm as the CEO of SPANX (which was founded by Sara Blakely). There are also new start-up businesses, such as Julep, BaubleBar and Birchbox, that were founded by women. I’m hoping larger retailers will take note of these businesses, plus others like Sole Society, and see the success they have seen as a result of their stellar leadership and innovation. I give props to these executives who have risen above, and can only hope that other retailers see this as an opportunity to integrate more types of people into the boardroom – not just the same personas.
Kim Zimmermann, Managing Editor: I interviewed one of the few female CIOs in retail about 15 years ago, and sadly there has not been enough progress in the C-suite since then. But to me diversity isn’t just more females to the board, but it is about having more people of varied backgrounds. It really starts at the store level. By encouraging more diversity in store leadership, retailers will prepare the next wave of leaders to enter the boardroom.
Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor: It’s silly how a company like Skechers refuses to change its formal diversity policy after initially claiming they would make the change, only to keep blatantly ignoring the issue in the face of rising stock. The stock isn’t going to go up forever, and the company isn’t always going to have that excuse to fall back on. I can’t give a scientific explanation as to why companies with women on their boards earn a higher average share, but I would gather that diversity in the board room brings together a mix of perspectives benefiting the direction of a company in a way that couldn’t be fostered in a more homogenized environment.
Brian Anderson, Associate Editor: With one in every 10 Fortune 500 companies having absolutely no female directors on their boards, it’s clear that there is A LOT of room for improvement when it comes to diversity in retail leadership positions. However, it is going to have to take a mass, organized effort from many well-known retailers to bring diversity to the main stage. I believe that with the more bids and requests for women and people of minority to fill these leadership positions, the more retailers will succumb to having diverse upper-management and executive boards.
