German online retailer Zalando has revised its goals for diversity at the executive level. By the end of 2023, the company aims to achieve a balanced representation of women and men at the top six management levels, including the management board and supervisory board.
“During the past 11 years, we have been very focused on establishing and growing our business, and we didn’t put enough effort into countering structural imbalances that have evolved. We acknowledge that today we lack diversity in our senior management, and we are committed to changing this,” says Zalando co-CEO Rubin Ritter. “We strongly believe that only a diverse and inclusive culture will ensure that we have the best talent on board and can truly serve our customer base.”
Cristina Stenbeck, chairwoman of the supervisory board of Zalando SE, says, “Diversity at all levels of a business drives better decision making and fosters a culture of creativity, and when at its best it also boosts overall performance. I am also convinced that diverse teams are more apt to create unique products and relevant user experiences for customers, as well as value creation for stakeholders. The supervisory board supports the adoption of these diversity targets as a means to step-change Zalando’s progress in building a more inclusive organization over the long term.”
The new targets are part of a general revision of the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, in which Zalando aims to diversify different dimensions of its workforce, amongst others, gender, internationality or education. Over the next months, Zalando will launch several initiatives to achieve this goal, such as updating its decision-making bodies and committees, changing hiring practices and introducing holistic succession planning.
Read also:
