VF Corporation joins Paradigm for Parity Coalition

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Dec 19, 2016

VF Corporation announced on Monday that it has joined the Paradigm for Parity coalition. The company joins 26 other companies committed to gender parity including Nordstrom, Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company, Huffington Post, LinkedIn and Sap among others.

The Paradigm for Parity is comprised of CEOs, senior executives, founders, board members and business academics who are committed to male and female corporate leaders having equal power, status and opportunity. The coalition created the Paradigm for Parity 5-Point Action Plan for corporations to accelerate gender equality in senior executive roles.

As a Paradigm for Parity partner, VF Corp will be committed to eliminating or minimizing unconscious bias in the workplace, increase the number of women in senior operating roles (with the near-term goal of 30%), measure progress and maintain accountability by providing regular progress reports and, provide sponsors to women to position them for long-term success. VF Corp aims to achieve gender parity throughout its corporate leadership structure by 2030.

“Our experience has proven that the most creative and innovative ideas come from diverse teams that understand how to effectively leverage the individual strengths, perspectives and experiences of each member to reach a common goal,” said Steve Rendle, VF’s President and Chief Operating Officer, who will become CEO of the company on Jan. 1, 2017.

“Our commitment to gender parity and workplace equality is unwavering, and it will help to fuel our future growth ambitions and enable us to continue to win in a highly competitive, global marketplace.”

VF Corporation is the latest company to increase its corporate responsibility. In December, PVH signed the UN Global Compact and, along with Tommy Hilfiger, signed the CEO Water Mandate. Other companies that signed the Water Mandate include H&M, Nike and Deckers, which signed in October. In addition, a number of companies including Kering, Prada, and Salvatore Ferragamo have committed to eco-sustainability.