Analysis of Patagonia's Diversity

1 Analysis of Patagonia’s Diversity 1) Describe the organization’s diversity in terms of sex, race, ethnicity, age.

People are at the center of everything Patagonia does, from its employees, customers, and communities it calls home. The business values diversity since individuals from different ages, races, sex, and ethnic groups are employed. Patagonia champions diversity by building a workforce as diverse as the customers it serves (Patagonia, 2018). Having realized that most of its employees are primarily white, the company embarked on a commitment to build a workforce that represents America's makeup. The company realized that without a diverse workforce, its product quality is likely to suffer. Figuring out how to make outdoor clothing, say, for trans people without trans voices in the business would be next to impossible. Thus, Patagonia resorted to changing its business models and hiring practices to include people from the underrepresented sex, race, age, and ethnic groups.

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2 The company is acutely aware of the country's changing demographics. It now considers diversity hiring as an important step to ending the exclusivity endemic witnessed in the major outdoor companies. The company is now committed to hiring more women and people from underrepresented communities and groups (Patagonia, 2018). For instance, its recent advertisements feature athletes from diverse backgrounds like members of the LGBTQ community, people of color, as well as black and adaptive climbers. Further, in an attempt to create a more diverse workforce, the company entered into a partnership with Greening Youth Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Atlanta that prepares young people, many of whom are Hispanic or African-American, to become qualified interns and prospective employees. In such a partnership, Patagonia offers internship opportunities to these young adults in apparel business sectors like web development, textile design, and material sourcing.

2) How does the organization “manage” its diversity?

The effective management of diversity in the workplace is an important activity in enduring an organization's successful performance. Diversity in the workplace enables employees from different backgrounds to bring their innovative ideas and perspectives into the organization (Ravazzani, 2016). A diverse workforce can also help a company to understand better its targeted demographics, including what moves them. Diversity in the workplace also ensures increased customer satisfaction by enhancing how the organizational staff interacts with more diverse customers and the public.

According to Urbancová, Hudáková, and Fajčíková (2020), diversity management efforts in an organization are meant to make all employees feel included and involved in a common effort. Effective management of diversity can be a competitive advantage as it results in happier, satisfied, and more loyal organizational members, thus helping to minimize the costs associated

3 with hiring and training new employees. One way Patagonia manages its diversity is through diversity training (Patagonia, 2018). The training works to address all the unique characteristics of individual employees and emphasize the importance of working together as a team irrespective of the differences in such characteristics as sexual orientation, language, color, race, gender identity, age, and socio-economic status, religion, and many more. Diversity training helps the employees to evaluate and adjust their perception of individuals from different backgrounds, learn to appreciate other people’s views, understand offensive actions, and how they can calmly approach a colleague that has offended them and effectively solve the conflict (Davis, Frolova, & Callahan, 2016).

Another way of managing its diversity at the organization is through the creation of common goals, which results in the formation of common bonds. When the employees are united over the shared objective, they work collaboratively and move forward together. Setting common goals emphasizes the importance of teamwork and collaboration and helps the organizational employees appreciate the value of individual contributions provided by their peers. Further, the company also recruits and hires talents from a diverse background. To ensure the hiring of a diverse workforce, the company has put in place a diverse interview panel to see to it that candidates are hired solely based on their suitability.

To manage diversity, the company has significantly prioritized effective communication with its employees. Safety rules, procedures, policies, and other important information have been designed to overcome cultural and language challenges by translating materials into a language understood by all. The company has also adopted a zero-tolerance policy. Off-color jokes about religion, sexual orientation, gender, race, or ethnicity are not tolerated at the company. Slurs, bullying, and name-calling for any reason at the workplace have been prohibited. Policies have

4 been put in place to take care of such misconduct and inform the employees that such behaviors are not allowed in the organization.

3) What efforts has the organization taken to ensure that the organization's most senior levels are equally as diverse as the rest of the organization?

Having realized that diversity translates to good business, Patagonia has taken diversity issues very seriously. It understands that embracing a multitude of cultures and viewpoints and valuing diverse input styles and efforts obtained from a diverse workforce ultimately enhances innovation, increases employee retention and productivity, improves decision-making, and promotes better service to the customers. Such benefits can only be achieved through diversity efforts that cut across all the levels of the organization. To ensure that the firm's most senior levels are equally as diverse as the rest of the organization, the company has created a level playing field in advancement and opportunity. Policies have been put in place to ensure that promotions, pay processes, and criteria behind them are transparent and fair and strive to meet diversity targets. Individuals are promoted or hired to the senior level based solely on their ability to do the job. Things like color, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, among others, are never considered during the promotion or hiring to such levels.

4) Is the organization portrayed in popular or business media as a place actively sought by minorities for employment opportunities?

Patagonia has not significantly been portrayed in popular media as a place actively sought by minorities for employment opportunities (Semuels, 2019). However, a section of the media has reported on the company's internship program, in which it offers internship opportunities to young adult students from underrepresented communities (Trap, 2020). The company has partnered with organizations like Greening Youth Foundation, whose members,

5 mostly underrepresented children, receive broad experience at Patagonia working in marketing, compliance, and design departments (Martin, 2018). According to media reports, the company actively engages in activism activities to save the environment and minority groups. The company has recently embarked on environmental activism, which has significantly helped make its sales grow (Semuels, 2019).

6 References Davis, P. J., Frolova, Y., & Callahan, W. (2016). Workplace diversity management in Australia. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal.

Martin, C. (2018). Is diversity just a marketing strategy for gear brands? Outside. https://www.outsideonline.com/2328831/outdoor-industry-getting-more-diverse-slowly Patagonia (2018). A gathering for diversity, equity, and inclusion with Teresa Baker. https://www.patagonia.com/stories/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/story-71003.html Patagonia. (2018). Our acknowledgment. https://www.patagonia.com/stories/ouracknowledgment/story-91580.html Ravazzani, S. (2016). Understanding approaches to managing diversity in the workplace. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal.

Semuels, A. (2019). “Rampant consumerism is not attractive” – Patagonia is climbing to the top and reimagining capitalism along the way. Time. https://time.com/5684011/patagonia/ Trap, R. (2020). Patagonia used to be a maverick, but now activism is mainstream. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogertrapp/2020/10/30/patagonia-used-to-be-a-maverickbut-now-activism-is-mainstream/?sh=576c9e62623c Urbancová, H., Hudáková, M., & Fajčíková, A. (2020). Diversity Management as a Tool of Sustainability of Competitive Advantage. Sustainability, 12(12), 5020.