A January 23 report published by the British Fashion Council, incubation platform The Outsiders Collective, learning and development platform The Fashion Minority Report, and consulting company McKinsey reveals that most U.K. fashion firms lag in leadership inclusivity, with people of color and women underrepresented in executive roles.
The report, resulting from a year of research and the first U.K. Fashion DEI Census in 2023, highlights a disparity in diversity progress within the U.K. fashion industry. While there has been notable advancement in diverse representation across marketing products including runway shows, internal diversity, referring to employees and board members, lags behind. The report leveraged insights from interviews with 11 business leaders, an analysis of 70 U.K. fashion firms and other research.
The report shows that only 9% of executive team and board members and 11% of CEOs and creative directors are people of color. Women constitute 39% of executive leaders but only 24% hold top positions. Perceptions of industry diversity vary significantly among different groups: 86% of white men and 69% of white women view the industry as diverse, while just 57% of men of color and 46% of women of color feel the same.
According to research partner McKinsey, a diverse workforce improves decision-making up to 87% of the time, which affects the bottom line. In 2015, top-quartile companies, in terms of female representation on executive teams, were 15% more likely to outperform bottom-quartile companies. In 2023, they were 39% more likely to outperform.
“Immediately, [the brands] have benefited from seeing what an alternative industry perspective can bring you,” said Jamie Gill, founder of Outsiders Perspective, a non-profit focused on boosting the presence of people of color in operational, commercial, and marketing roles within the fashion and luxury industries. It works with brands like Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Zalando. “We have placed diverse candidates from oil and gas onto a fashion brand’s finance [team]. The way they operate, in terms of their attention to detail and what they allow out the door, is really [strong]. It’s on another level.”
One of the brands that works with OP and has hired from other industries is British luxury giant Burberry, which launched multiple DEI-focused goals in 2019. It hired McLaren Group finance boss Kate Ferry in March of last year. It also sponsors the BRIT School Fashion Program, aimed at reaching the next generation of diverse candidates before university to teach them about fashion opportunities.
“For us, [diversity of thought] has always been a fundamental tenet of our organization,” said Geoffrey O. Williams, global vp of diversity, equity and inclusion at Burberry. “It’s about [asking]: How do we innovate on our product? How do we keep our history alive, being a luxury British brand, but also lean into how we look to the future.”
Integrating more diversity in senior leadership positions is a goal. “For senior positions, we’re [exploring] what transferable skills mean and [working to] apply that to our working environment,” said Williams. “Our recruiters are also encouraged to sometimes go against the grain, so you’ll see some of our hires most recently have come from different industries.”
The report’s business case for diversity may help brands make DEI more of a priority, rather than an afterthought. After the killing of George Floyd, many fashion firms established DEI departments, but only 17% set concrete diversity goals.
“Money is at the heart of our industry, but so are people,” said Daniel Peters, founder of Fashion Minority Report. “So [we’re focusing] on going beyond just supporting [more of the same types of] people in our industry.”
The report further suggests that DEI needs rebranding for effective change. It looks to set industry goals for better representation in leadership within five years, including people of color and the LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities.
