Creating a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Workforce

Retailers serve communities comprised of individuals from many different ethnicities and backgrounds. RILA’s members strive to ensure their workforce reflects the diverse nature of these communities including, diversity in the c-suite. This is key to understanding and serving the retail customer, as research has shown companies that invest in gender and racial diversity outperform companies that don’t keep with the status quo. That’s why RILA is leading an initiative to tackle this complex issue.

Leading retailers are leaning into issues that resonate with core business principle, consumers, and communities. Bridging together the teams and ideas of different operational communities, from human resources to asset protection to supply chain, retailers are identifying new opportunities to create innovative ways to increase collaboration bringing greater value to the retail workforce and consumers.

To support these efforts, RILA, and its members support the enactment of EQUALITY Act and the WAGE Equity Act both complement the industry’s ongoing efforts to promote opportunity and inclusion in the workforce. Finally, RILA is developing a robust Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) practice that coordinates many of these efforts along with those related to sustainability and climate. While RILA supports efforts to provide investors with accurate material climate risk-related information, there are serious concerns about the prescriptive approach taken by the SEC in their proposed rules. Retailers are working diligently to address and reduce the industry’s climate change impact and believe this growing problem is best addressed through the collective efforts of all parties and welcome the opportunity to discuss how to solve for key proposed rule concerns and overcome implementation issues, leveraging retailers’ practical experience with ESG reporting.

RILA is committed to ensuring all retailers have access to the tools, research, and benchmarking to improve policies around DE&I that will ultimately drive sales and prosperity. The Diversity Equity and Inclusion Leaders Council is focused on talent recruitment and management, organizational inclusivity, and social engagement.

Tags

• Investing in People
• Retail Works for All of Us
• Diversity
• Ensuring a Safe, Sustainable Future