With a workforce that includes more than 170 nationalities and operating in more than 80 countries, DEI is core to our values and foundational to our business. LVMH efforts have created a more equitable and inclusive company and led us to commit to standards that set us apart in the luxury industry. In 2013, LVMH and 30 Maisons signed the U.N.’s Women Empowerment Principles committing to achieve gender equity and equality in the workplace and the community. In 2019, LVMH and its Maisons signed the U.N. Standards of Conduct, committing to eliminating LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace and among our customers and business partners. In 2021, the Group signed the International Labour Organization (ILO) Global Business & Disability Network Charter.
LVMH is on track to meet several of its ambitious equality goals across the Group. By 2025, LVMH intends to have 50% of women in Group key positions, achieve salary equity for all female employees, double our total number of disabled employees, provide greater access to unconscious bias training to all 175,000 employees, and have 30% of the Group’s senior key roles composed of BIPOC in North America alone.
LVMH and its Maisons work around three pillars of actions: People, Partners, and Image. Through these three focus areas, the Group strives to build a more diverse and inclusive work environment and workforce, expand supply chains to underrepresented groups, and amplify and advocate for the elevation of diversity and inclusion in our store experience, marketing campaigns, partnerships and clients. Each of LVMH’s regional offices has implemented initiatives to achieve these goals.
“I think critics who are talking about diversity and inclusion as window dressing are usually responding to too much talk and not enough action. And I think our strategy to avoid that is to do the opposite,” said Anish Melwani, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, LVMH Inc.
Since 2020, over 300 Black, Latinx, and Asian LVMH North America employees have taken the Executive Leadership Program with McKinsey & Co.’s McKinsey Academy. Through Employee Resource Groups such as EllesVMH, All LVMH Pride, and LEAD, LVMH employees volunteer to further the Group’s global and regional DEI ambitions. The Group has also initiated diverse recruitment efforts and embedded it in core initiatives including the Métiers D’Excellence (M.E.) vocational training program where the Maisons ensure transmission of savoir-faire in craft, design, and retail to the next generation. M.E. now exists in 7 countries, with 22 brand partners, 36 trades, and has 1,400 apprentices trained to date. With the North America launch of M.E. in 2022, LVMH, in partnership with Tiffany & Co., has been training the first cohort of apprentices in jewelry design and fabrication. The program recruits artists from historically underrepresented communities to create opportunities and build an inclusive talent pipeline. In 2023, M.E. will be expanding to other Maisons in North America and recruiting more apprentices.
As the luxury leader with $79.2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2022, LVMH has a responsibility toward influencing the advancement of DEI in society and advocating for an inclusive fashion and luxury goods industry.
In 2022, LVMH North America partnered with Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) to elevate the voices and creativity of Black designers during New York Fashion Week, mentor over 100+ BIPOC designers and students, and create new partnerships with LVMH Maisons. Additionally, Louis Vuitton hosted HFR’s Designer Retreat for BIPOC designers; Moët Hennessy USA launched a Diversity Summer Internship Program to empower underrepresented students to start their careers in luxury; and Tiffany & Co. will continue its About Love Scholarship to provide scholarships to HBCUs. LVMH also has a longstanding partnership with Runway of Dreams to promote adaptive fashion.
This year alone, LVMH North America also helped raise or donated over $1.2 million to support various diverse communities and groups around the world.
LVMH is deeply committed to ending racial and economic disparities in the work environment, our communities, and the luxury industry and we will continue to evolve and expand our efforts to create a more equitable world.
