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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Is Fashion Done With Diversity Departments?

DEI programmes, widely adopted across the industry in 2020, now face a backlash from conservative activists and internal doubts about their effectiveness. To survive, they must evolve, experts say.
Diversity specialists say DEI programmes should be considered part of companies’ commercial efforts, rather than an offshoot of charitable giving or human resources.
Diversity specialists say DEI programmes should be considered part of companies’ commercial efforts, rather than an offshoot of charitable giving or human resources. (Shutterstock)

In 2019, Liela Touré, a public relations lead at a high-end e-commerce retailer, approached the company’s leadership about creating an employee resource group for racial-minority staffers.

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About the author
Sheena Butler-Young
Sheena Butler-Young

Sheena Butler-Young is Senior Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and covers workplace, talent and issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

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