Gender Parity
in Fashion

Ralph Lauren logo

Ralph Lauren and Parity.Org partnered with twenty fashion houses from Paris and New York to explore parity in the fashion industry–resulting in a seminal white paper, Unlocking Gender Parity in Fashion.

Asian woman designing clothes

Women are underrepresented in fashion.

Many are surprised to learn than there are fewer women CEOs in fashion than in the aerospace or finance industries. Women make up the majority of fashion and retail employees, and make up to 80% of all fashion purchasing decisions–as much as $15 trillion globally. Yet just 12.5% of fashion CEOs are women, and just 26% of fashion Board seats are held by women.
Source: PwC, “Unraveling the Fabric Ceiling", 2019

Best practices for parity in fashion.

Every fashion house is unique, with different customers, locations, budgets, resources, and cultures. Some have already made significant progress in their journey to gender parity, while others are just getting started. But the best practices outlined in our white paper can benefit any of them. The paper explores five key areas through which fashion houses can create impact, today.
  • Public Commitment
  • Executive Recruitment Strategy
  • Executive Preparedness
  • Benefits and Policies
  • Pay Parity
Latina carrying a bolt of fabric

Quotes from the paper...


The fashion industry needs to make a concerted effort to create more pathways for women and create more gender equality at the top, especially since women represent the core customer of our business. We need tangible opportunities for women in their careers and in their lives so that they can continue to flourish and grow.”

Steven Kolb
CEO, CFDA


As an industry, we have a responsibility to accelerate our progress toward a more equitable world – and part of that means taking action to close the gender gap and create environments where individuals can thrive, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity. Our roadmap for gender equality creates a consistent method for collective progress.”

Patrice Louvet
CEO, Ralph Lauren


Removing barriers to and creating opportunities for the advancement of women is an important focus area for PVH as we work to drive fashion forward for good. We’re proud to join our peers to collectively emphasize efforts on achieving and maintaining gender parity. We recognize our responsibility to accelerate this essential work and hold ourselves accountable to create a more inclusive and diverse industry.”

Manny Chirico
Chair and CEO, PVH Corp.

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