Old Navy has been named one of the 2017 Best Workplaces for Diversity by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. The San Francisco company shared the news on December 5, 2017. It comes shortly after the brand made the 2017 Best Workplaces in Retail list.
The ranking drew on more than 440,000 employee surveys from US organizations in many different industries. Great Place to Work, a research and consulting firm, looked at more than 50 parts of the employee experience. These included growth, new ideas at work and trust in leaders. They also covered whether people from different backgrounds are treated the same way. The ranking also took into account how many women, people of color, Baby Boomers and LGBT people work at each company.
Sheila Peters runs human resources and communications at Old Navy as senior vice president. She said the brand wants to make great fashion available to everyone. For that reason, she said, it values a workforce that is as diverse as its customers. She added that the differences among employees make the company unique. Because of that, it matters for them to feel respected and empowered every day.
Kisha Modica is senior director of diversity and inclusion at Gap Inc. She said the company works to build a culture that values inclusion and treats every person with dignity. In her view, those values help attract and keep talented people. They also lead to strong products and experiences while supporting positive change in business and society.
Meanwhile, winners on the list stood out for steady leadership and for how every employee contributes. At the top employers, women and people of color stayed in their jobs longer than at peer companies. In several sectors, winners also reported turnover two to three times lower than the industry average.
Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, said these employers have gone beyond basic fairness. In fact, they connect with their people, listen to their challenges and build on their talents, he said.
The diversity list is one of several rankings by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. All of them are based on feedback from employees at certified organizations. For this one, survey answers came from 442,624 people. Old Navy started in 1994 and is part of Gap Inc. Since then it has grown to more than 1,000 stores around the world.
