News
What does diversity mean at Abercombie & Fitch?
30 June 2011
The US fashion retailer Abercrombie and Fitch is in trouble again over its “look policy”.In 2009 it was ordered by an Employment Tribunal to pay compensation of £9,000 to a young British woman, who was not allowed to wear a cardigan to conceal the join between her upper arm and a prosthetic limb. Now, claims have been filed in the USA by Muslim women who say the company refused them permission to wear the hijab.
A&F claims on its website that “Diversity and inclusion are key to our organisation’s success. We are determined to have a diverse culture, throughout our organization, that benefits from the perspectives of each individual”.
Fine words, but they sound rather hollow in the light of three EEOC-supported actions brought against the firm, the most recent this week in California. So whatever strides Abercrombie & Fitch may have made in eradicating race discrimination in its hiring and promotion policies – it claims its in-store workforce is as whole over 50% people of color – it seems it still has long way to go in adapting its dress code to permit employees to wear items which are important to them for religious reasons.
Abercrombie general counsel Ronald Robins issued a statement this week, saying, “Abercrombie & Fitch makes every reasonable attempt to accommodate the sincere religious practices of associates and applicants including, when appropriate, allowing Muslim associates to wear a hijab and we will continue to do so.”
More on the cases in Tulsa and California can be found here and here.
Maybe A&F should look at Ikea’s solution.