A large percentage of growth in apparel companies across the world is driven by an Asian workforce. Yet, few of these companies hire Asians in top leadership positions, says a report by the Women’s Wear Daily.
A 2017 survey by the non-profit Asia Societyhad shown, 27 percent of the participating Fortune 500 companies do not have Asian representation in their list of highest ranking senior executives. Consulting companies including McKinsey do not focus on the origin of their leaders while the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) doesn’t have a breakdown on its corporate leaders. Further, a review of the leadership team of over a dozen of apparel companies shows, most of their top executives are white and male, with just a few exceptions.
Limited opportunities for Asian employees
UmranBeba, Chairperson, Asia Society’s Global Talent and Diversity Council, and Partner, August Leadership says, Asian professionals are not promoted to the next level in the same manner and with same speed as their western counterparts. Their leadership is mainly limited to the rank of a Chief Financial Officer like in the case of Sunil Doshi from the Fossil Group, AnurupPruthi from Centric Brands and Harmit Singh from Levi Strauss & Co.
American companies are also known to reserve a significantly smaller percentage of executive roles for their Asian employees. As per a survey by Asia Society, American tech companies employ only 14 per cent Asians in executive roles while their total workforce comprises 27 per cent Asians.
These figures reflectAmerica’sdiscrimination against a well-educated and affluent group. Still, the country has 20 million Asians in its workforce, that are growing faster than its ethnic groups, says the Pew Research Center. The percentage of Asian representation in American workforceis likely to further rise to 9.7 percent by 2050, addsthe Census Bureau.
Initiatives to boost Asian presence in corporate world
The percentage of Asian employees in American workforce is highly unbalanced, views Bing Chen, President and Co-founder, Gold House. The non-profit organization works to advance Asian representation in corporate leadership through its ‘Gold Rush’ accelerator program. Through this program, the NGO connects Asian entrepreneurs with business opportunities, organizes funds for their startups, and increases their presence on corporate boards. Driven by Michelle Lee, Editor-in-Chief, Allure and designers PrabalGurung and Phillip Lim, the program launches new ventures in fashion, beauty, food and beverage. It intentionally focuses on Asian start-ups to increase Asian participation in the n the business world.
Traditional fashion corporations are also launching new diversity initiatives. For instance, Levi Strauss & Co appointed African-American Elizabeth Morrison as its new chief diversity officer in November. The company aims to hire around 50 per cent of future employees from diverse backgrounds. It has launched several new programs to hire people from different ethnic backgrounds, affirms Harmit Singh, CFO.
PVH Corp too plans to increase the number of Black, indigenous and people of color at its corporate levels by 50 per cent by 2026. Such initiatives by fashion companies are however, likely to progress at a painstakingly slow pace, concludes Beba, Asia Society and August Leadership.
