Report: LS&Co.’s DE&I Efforts Moving In a Positive Direction

Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) released its 2023 DE&I Impact Report, documenting how the denim giant is working to create a workforce that is diverse in gender, race, ethnicity and perspective.

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LS&Co. has ramped up efforts to recruit, hire and promote more people of color at all levels, and to increase the number of women in executive positions since 2020.

“We’ve taken consistent steps forward since. Last year, LS&Co. made significant progress toward increasing our representation of executive women and diverse individuals at all levels of the organization,” the company stated in the report.

From December 2022 to December 2023, women made up 56.8 percent of the company’s global workforce, making up more than half of corporate, executive and frontline roles. LS&Co. pointed out that women in top management grew globally, while BIPOC representation, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latinx, increased in the U.S.

LS&Co.’s U.S. workforce by race and ethnicity during the same period was 33.9 percent White, 33.1 percent Hispanic/Latinx, 16.7 percent Black, 9.9 percent Asian and 5.1 percent other BIPOC.

In the U.S., LS&Co. said Black representation increased on the executive leadership team, while Black and Hispanic/Latinx representation increased across top management and corporate workforce. The company’s frontline workers “remains highly racially diverse in the U.S.,” according to the report, with “notable increases in Asian and Hispanic/Latinx talent.”

Part of the company’s DE&I strategy is to use surveys to check in with employees. LS&Co.’s inclusion pulse survey found that 88 percent of employees report feeling respected at work and expressed appreciation for the company’s transparency, work-life balance and clarity on career growth opportunities.

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LS&Co.’s annual global engagement survey, which response from a record-breaking 16,000 employeses,  found that overall global employee sentiment on role clarity and authority was high. Also high was the feeling of pride in working for the company.

Suggested areas of improvement included simplified career pathing, more routine leadership communication and further breakdown of siloes, the report stated.

This is LS&Co.’s third DE&I report. It is the first since the company’s first chief DE&I officer Elizabeth A. Morrison , exited the company, and the first since Michelle Gass became LS&Co. president and CEO.

In a letter, Tracey Layney, LS&Co. EVP and chief human resources officer, said the company’s dedication to DE&I is fueled by the conviction that “people make us what we are.”

“All of this work will continue as we go forward. Along the way, we will draw inspiration from our values, our heritage and, most importantly, our employees. In a time when more and more people say they want to work for a company they feel good about, LS&Co. remains steadfast in our commitment both to this work and to providing employees not only with the environment they need to thrive but with one they can feel proud of,” she stated.

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