Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
- By [ Evan Armstrong ]
Retailers directly serve communities made up of individuals of many different ethnicities and backgrounds. RILA’s members work to ensure their workforce reflects the diverse nature of these communities, but too often corporate offices have failed to keep pace. Diversity in the c-suite is key to understanding and serving the retail customer, as research has shown companies that invest in gender and racial diversity outperform companies that keep with the status quo. That’s why RILA is leading an initiative to tackle this complex issue.

Leading retailers are leaning into social issues that resonate with our core business principle, consumers, and communities. Retail CEOs are listening to their employees and are committed to inclusivity. Bridging together different operational communities, from HR to Asset Protection, retailers are identifying where changes are needed and how new approaches to current problems can work.
RILA is devoted to ensuring that all retailers have access to the tools, research, and benchmarking to improve policies around D&I that will ultimately drive sales and prosperity. The Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Council is focused on talent recruitment and management, organizational inclusivity, and social engagement. The latter was exemplified by RILA, and its members engagement and promotion of the historic passage of the EQUALITY Act in the House of Representatives. This is legislation we will work to see reintroduced and hopefully passed in the next Congress.
Tags
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Investing in People
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Retail Works for All of Us
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Diversity
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Workforce