Last Updated:
10/28/20 11:16 PM
overall rating:
do better
Adidas
Internal Representation & Support
26%
Public Commitment
63%
External Communication
62%
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.
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Forms of monetary support we look for:
One-off donations
Recurring donations
Grant initiatives
Employee donation matching
Highlights
Adidas has actively defended its social media statements in support of Black Lives Matter; for instance, in the comments section on an Instagram post about the shooting of Jacob Blake, Adidas responded to users expressing "All Lives Matter" sentiments, explaining their position.
Lowlights
NYT's The Daily podcast did a feature on Adidas designer Julia Bond in which she elaborated upon Adidas' racist practices and stated that she has been protesting her employer since June because HR was not doing enough to address racism internally. Morever, the company allegedly only pledged money toward antiracist causes after 150 employes demanded action. In terms of backlash regarding their products, Adidas named one of their Yeezy's "israfil", severely offending the Muslim community.
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:
0% (none) Black, 11% - 15% BIPOC, 31% - 35% Women
Executive Leadership:
0% (none) Black, 0% (none) BIPOC, 0% (none) Women
4% - 5% Black, > 50% Women
Workforce:
Information is not publicly available
DEI Support:
II. Public Commitment
Adidas has pledged a donation of 0.1% - 0.9% of annual revenue towards racial injustice, specifically for Black lives. Additionally, Adidas has engaged in actions that advance racial justice and/or uplift BIPOC communities, such as sponsorship of individuals who use their platform to speak out on racial injustice. Adidas is also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants.
III. External Communications
Adidas has issued a public statement, both on social media and in a public memo, addressing racial injustice The public statement acknowledged that they can be doing better to combat racial inequality within their company, included specific calls to action, and explicitly stated "Black Lives Matter." Since June 2020, 0.1% - 9% of the brand's social media content has been centered around racial injustice with most posts falling flat and appearing unhelpful. While the brand has made an effort to include ethnic diversity, specifically increasing Black representation, aside from a post for Pride, there is little to no evidence on social media of inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community (beyond posting for Pride), people living with disabilities, or a wide range of models with varying body types.
