Last Updated:
5/1/21 3:32 PM
overall rating:
keep going
Madewell
Internal Representation & Support
40%
Public Commitment
68%
External Communication
82%
To evaluate this pillar, we take into consideration a range of factors, including but not limited to:
- Employee representation
- Diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI)
We weigh a company’s degree of public commitment primarily on their monetary contributions to DEI matters or organizations fighting racial injustice.
Forms of monetary support we look for:
One-off donations
Recurring donations
Grant initiatives
Employee donation matching
Highlights
In June 2020, Madewell pledged to amplify Black voices and businesses and has made significant strides toward its goal. Through its Hometown Heroes Collective and Labels We Love directory, Madewell highlights Black-owned brands that customers can shop directly on the Madewell website. To further demonstrate its commitment, Madewell joined the 15 Percent Pledge as of December 2020.
Lowlights
While Madewell has increasingly begun to feature Black community members influential in the racial justice space, the brand rarely takes those opportunities to meaningfully explore these individuals' perspectives, instead opting to engage in brief, surface-level exchanges.
We scour the company’s website and official social media channels to determine what message they are sending around racial injustice, how they are communicating it, and whether their communications are perceived as genuine or performative.
Public statement: We verify that companies have made a formal statement regarding racial injustice.
Social media: We consider how a company uses their platform(s) beyond performative allyship.
Representation: For companies that have the opportunity to showcase diversity in their feed, we consider whether they have adequate Black representation and BIPOC representation across their models.
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Deep Dive
I. Internal Representation & Support:
Board of Directors:
> 15% Black, 31% - 35% BIPOC, 46% - 50% Women
Executive Leadership:
0% (none) Black, 0% (none) BIPOC, 46% - 50% Women
Information not publicly available
Workforce:
Information is not publicly available
DEI Support:
II. Public Commitment
Madewell has pledged a donation of 0.1% - 0.9% of annual revenue towards racial injustice, specifically for Black lives. Additionally, Madewell has engaged in actions that advance racial justice and/or uplift BIPOC communities, such as partnerships with nonprofits or mission-based organizations, sponsorship of individuals who use their platform to speak out on racial injustice, co-branded partnerships with other companies, and matching donations to a broad range of qualifying organizations. Madewell is also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
III. External Communications
Madewell has issued a public statement, both on social media and in a public memo, addressing racial injustice that included specific calls to action, and explicitly stated "Black Lives Matter." Since June 2020, 10% - 20% of the brand's social media content has been centered around racial injustice with posts seeking to continue the momentum of BLM. The brand has made an effort to include ethnic diversity, specifically increasing Black representation, and has shown support of the LGBTQ+ community beyond Pride as well as inclusion of people living with disabilities or a wide range of models with varying body types on social media.
