Luxury fashion brand Gucci was under fire last week due to their new Balaclava sweater, which was widely criticized for being an example of Blackface. Following the incident, the company issued an apology and emphasized its commitment to diversity. The apology was not enough for some. Rapper T.I. as well as Spike Lee called for a boycott of Gucci products. In an effort to rectify the situation, on Thursday Gucci’s executives created a set of action items to remedy their reputation. Hours ago, Gucci issued a series of tweets that outlined their detailed initiatives moving forward.
The first step in creating a more diverse and inclusive company is to be more inclusive in their hiring. Gucci committed to hiring global and regional directors of diversity and inclusion. The goal with this initiative is to find a Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion and execute strategies to foster a more inclusive company. From a financial standpoint, having a company that is more racially and ethnically diverse can equate to greater financial gain for the company, according to McKinsey. Aside from the documented financial gains that having a more diverse company can produce if an organization has more diversity of thought, incidents like what occurred at Gucci are less likely.
Gucci’s second step in their action plan is a multi-cultural design scholarship program aimed at creating more employment opportunities for underrepresented groups. The third step in their action plan is to improve their cultural awareness and sensitivity. The diversity and inclusivity awareness program that they plan to implement will begin in May and will be a one-day training that will continue annually. The training will be completed by all 18,000 global employees. The verdict is still out regarding whether mandatory training is effective. Starbucks received backlash after implementing mandatory training for all employees following a 2018 incident where two Black men were racially profiled. The fourth step is a Global Exchange Program to “promote a multicultural and diverse workplace by providing internal mobility for talents to come from regions to work at the headquarter offices in Italy.” By laying out these initiatives on their social media page, Gucci is allowing the public to hold them accountable and assess whether they are making progress towards their diversity and inclusion goals. While research does indicate that when a company makes a public guffaw, an apology and taking ownership of the mistake increases favorability, empty promises of change may have irreversible effects on the company’s reputation.
Ultimately, companies can come back from mistakes and blunders but it takes more than an apology. Implementation is what will help to repair public perception. It is imperative that Gucci continue the conversation of how to build bridges to continue this critical dialogue. Including famed Harlem designer Dapper Dan in conversations about how to build a more inclusive company is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. Dapper Dan announced that a town-hall meeting was in the works and that there would be an opportunity to express opinions and concerns. The first step towards concrete and long-lasting changes is increased dialogue. This situation should be a learning lesson not only for Gucci but for other organizations. Beyond talking about the problem though, there must be steps taken to actually implement these action items if lasting changes are ever to be made.
