PROMOTIONAL RESEARCH

Diversity and inclusion boosts creativity and innovation, and enhances economic growth, Gap senior director for talent management Kisha Modica told Retail Week. 

Modica, who is also head of equality and belonging at the retailer, spoke to Retail Week as part of our in-depth report, The True Value of DiversityProduced in association with Google, the report investigates the links between diverse boards and inclusive teams and employee productivity, revenue and profit growth. 

In 2014, Gap became the first Fortune 500 company to validate that it pays men and women the same for the same work on average across its global organisations. 

“We believe diversity increases creativity and innovation, promotes high-quality decisions and enhances economic growth. 

“Our business success depends on our people, which is why it is so critical to cultivate a culture that attracts and engages talented employees and gives them opportunities to achieve their work and life goals,” said Modica.

“Our business success depends on our people, which is why it is so critical to cultivate a culture that attracts and engages talented employees”

Kisha Modica, Gap

The retailer launched its ‘Be one. Get one.’ mentorship platform in 2018, which encourages employees to take active roles in their development and the development of others. It has also been stepping up efforts to get store employees to apply for head-office roles.

“By 2020, our goal is to fill 20% of entry-level headquarters roles with employees from our stores,” said Modica.

As part of the report, Retail Week also spoke to Carpetright chief executive Wilf Walsh, who revealed that the company is advertising all non-store manager positions as being available on a part-time basis.

Carpetright has also managed to reduce its gender pay gap from a median of 6.5% last year to 3.6% this year.

Google Diversity report cover

To find out how diversity and inclusion can improve your business performance, download The True Value of Diversity today, and discover:

  • What D&I will really do for your bottom line
  • Which retailers are leading the way and what the results have been
  • The best way to structure your D&I programme.

Driving diversity and inclusion in business is a key focus of the Be Inspired conference 2019.

With speakers from Google, Jack Wills, Sainsbury’s Argos, Feelunique and more, the event will bring together men and women from the world of retail to tackle the big issues impacting women in the workplace.

Secure your spot today and continue the conversation around the true value of diversity.