A century ago, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed, prohibiting governments from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex and thereby granting women the right to vote. To honor this historic moment, the U.S. named today Women’s Equality Day. In practice, however, many state laws and restrictions kept millions of women - especially women of color - from the polls for decades. Universal suffrage was not secured until 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
At PVH, we’re committed to providing resources and opportunities to continue the empowerment of women around the globe - across our supply chain, retail stores, warehouses and offices. Today, we honor the notable women at our company who have removed barriers to advancement, paved pathways to opportunity, and built our company into the global industry leader that it is today. Here are some of the recent actions we have taken to continue our focus on women’s equality.
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Earlier this year, PVH signed the Paradigm for Parity (P4P) pledge, joining a coalition of business leaders dedicated to addressing the corporate leadership gender gap. The P4P goal is to achieve full gender parity by 2030, with a near-term goal of women holding at least 30% of senior roles.
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PVH also announced our patronage of Target Gender Equality, a flagship UN Global Compact initiative which is designed to drive business action in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.5, which calls for women’s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership by 2030.
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In our recent 2019 Corporate Responsibility (CR) report, we were proud to share that we reached our goal and Forward Fashion key target of achieving gender parity in leadership positions (defined as VP+ level) ahead of our 2030 timeline. Going forward, we will focus on achieving gender parity at the most senior leadership levels (SVP+).
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In 2019, PVH signed on to Time to Vote, reaffirming our stance that everyone should have the opportunity to vote. In the coming weeks, we will deliver non-partisan information and resources to all our U.S. associates, creating a safe space regardless of political association.
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We have in place numerous company programs and initiatives, such as our global pay equity audit, expanded parental leave policy, flexible workplace program in the United States, and our women’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) Uniting Professional Women Advancing Relationships & Development BRG (UPWARD).
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As the first apparel partner to implement Gap Inc.’s Personal Advancement Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program in its supply chain, PVH is working toward our goal to make professional and life skills development programs and services available to 500,000 women across our supply chain by 2030.
As we are committed to transparency and accountability, we will report on our progress and opportunities for improvement. This year our 2019 annual CR report expanded our inclusion and diversity (I&D) data, offering a new level of visibility in regards to the makeup of our workforce, showing there are many areas in which we must direct our efforts to achieve inclusivity and equality, and guiding us as we continue our work in women’s empowerment and advancement.