N O TA B L E
Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence Launching New Diversity Initiatives Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence (WISE) began nine years ago with a mission to increase diversity in the store brand industry. Our original mission was largely focused on increasing gender diversity and providing leadership tools for women. Today, the WISE organization has grown to 300 individual members and 48 partner companies. We are proud to say that WISE is described by our members as a safe space for important discussions on the advancement of women in our industry. For us, it’s an important recognition, but WISE wants to do more. The last year was one of introspection for many, and certainly for the WISE Board of Directors. We discussed at length what we wanted our organization to be moving forward, and how we wanted to contribute to the topic of diversity in the private label industry. Overwhelmingly, the Board wanted to expand our organization’s definition of diversity, and be more of a go-to resource for our members who also are championing workplace diversity.
40
GLOBAL RETAIL BRANDS / MAY 2021
“The WISE Board of Directors took a deep look at where we’ve been and what impact we could make moving ahead,” notes WISE Chairperson Jen Linke, Federated Group. “We want to be a catalyst for true diversity initiatives, and most importantly, a reliable resource for the individuals and companies in our membership. Many of our member companies, especially the small and medium-sized ones, don’t have a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion department or director. WISE would like to be where they can turn to for good information in supporting their D&I goals.”
“We want to be a catalyst for true diversity initiatives, and most importantly, a reliable resource for the individuals and companies in our membership.”
The Board’s introspection also highlighted the fact that we needed the right knowledge and credible information resources. To do that, we needed to find a diversity partner. In 2021, WISE will be announcing its newly contracted diversity partner. In addition, we will be releasing a number of new resources for our partner members to support their Human Resources staff. There hasn’t been a better time to join WISE. In addition to the wide network of store brand professionals that are active in our organization, there will be a number of new and exciting programs available to our partner members launching in 2021. Become a member of WISE www.wisediversity.org Become a supporting partner jen.linke@fedgroup.com