Driving Workforce Representation

To strengthen our workforce and better reflect and serve our customers, it’s critical that we have diverse voices at the table. We are committed to retaining more diverse associates, attracting more diverse talent and empowering the growth and advancement of all our associates.

The following data relative to associates’ gender identity reflects our global workforce, all data regarding race or ethnicity reflects only associates based in the United States. All representation data is self-disclosed by our associates.

We are proud that in 2023, 85 percent of our associates were women; 61 percent were people of color.

Looking deeper, we recognize the opportunity to increase our diverse workforce and leadership representation, particularly closing the gap in our Home Office and director and above roles.

We will drive progress by:

• Being intentional about promoting and advancing women and people of color
• Recommending diverse interview slates
• Tapping into diverse talent pipelines from stores and Distribution Centers to the Home Office
• Making leadership development programs available to women and people of color
• Evolving our full life cycle recruiting process to address barriers to entry
• Forming new partnerships and relationships with organizations that cultivate a diverse talent pipeline
• Holding leaders accountable for supporting the growth of diverse talent 
• Offering equitable learning and development opportunities for all

Creating Connections and Building a Talent Pipeline

We believe that to build a diverse workforce that’s more representative of the diversity of our customers, we must be intentional about establishing diverse early talent pipelines. 
                    
We made multi-year financial commitments to Howard University and Florida Agricultural Mechanical University (FAMU) to develop the next generation of top talent, while also allowing our leaders and their teams the ability to connect with a diverse group of Gen Z customers who are influencing trends in our industry. VS&Co has a year-round partnership with FAMU, as well as other universities to establish new and diverse talent pipelines with equitable hiring processes. 
 

Ensuring Equal Pay for Equal Work

The heart of our business is our talented workforce. We offer competitive pay and benefits to our more than 30,000 associates around the world and pay all associates equitably regardless of gender, race/ethnicity or background.

We conduct an annual, rigorous and transparent review of 100 percent of our worldwide workforce that is verified by an independent third party to ensure that all salaries and incentive compensation targets are fair and unbiased. If we find any differences in pay between men and women globally or by race and ethnicity in the United States*, we make upward adjustments.

We are pleased to report that our 2023 internal review as well as analysis by our third-party partner, the non-profit Fair Pay Workplace (FPW), revealed that 99 percent of our workforce was paid equitably. For the remaining 1 percent, we have made adjustments to processes and compensation to address inconsistencies.

Because workforces are dynamic and ever-changing, so is the work to ensure pay equity . VS&Co is committed to an ongoing analysis and continued transparency relative to our metrics on pay equity and we plan to report to our associates and to the public on an annual basis.

About our Third-Party Partner

Fair Pay Workplace certification takes a holistic approach to pay equity based upon a set of rules and standards established by a group of experts from the domains of HR, law, business, academia, DEI and data science. FPW evaluates our current pay scales, systems and infrastructure to discover root causes and then partners with us to design annual pay equity action plans to effect meaningful, measurable change.

Fair Pay Workplace certification is a verified system that sets a new standard for both employers and employees.

*Many jurisdictions outside the US limit our ability to collect information on race/ethnicity and also what we can do with that information.

**Percentage of women reflect our Global workforce, percentage of People of Color reflect U.S. only

Our Commitment to Responsible Marketing

It is our vision to become the world’s leading advocate for women. To us, advocacy means making sure that our customers are seen, heard, and represented in all that we do. This isn’t just philosophical, it’s fundamental. We see our support as a collective responsibility — central to our associate culture, workforce, development and customer experience.

We infuse this philosophy into product launches, marketing campaigns, and all our merchandising, design and creative initiatives.

Transparency, honesty, and accountability are at the core of everything we do. From photoshoots to international initiatives, casting to customer communication, we’re steadfast in our dedication to responsible marketing.

To reflect this commitment, we’ve created a Responsible Marketing Policy with the collaboration of our creative marketing, DEI, ethics teams, and other departments across the business. This policy will be integrated into product, marketing and creative processes.

Standing With The Transgender and Non-Binary Community 

We acknowledge and celebrate our trans and non-binary associates and loved ones and as an organization committed to living our values, we stand firmly against all forms of discrimination, stand with the LGBTQIA+ community and are taking action. 
 
Benefits for Gender-Affirming Care
We know how important gender-affirming care is to live authentically and freely. Associates and their dependents enrolled in our medical plans are eligible for travel reimbursement of up to $4,000 for medical care unavailable within 100 miles of home. Our medical plans include the global standard for transgender health care, including no cap on transition-related coverage. 
 
Support for Associates
The mental health of our associates is paramount, and we acknowledge the heavy toll discriminatory acts against the LGBTQIA+ community are taking. Our Employee Assistance Program offers free counseling to all associates and those in their households.
 
Additionally, our associate Inclusion Resource Groups (IRG) are a source of community, allyship and support, not just in difficult times but year-round. The Evolve IRG seeks to celebrate, educate and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies.
 
Education
Education and understanding are critical at this time. Throughout the month of April and beyond, we will host lunch and learns with our associates and partner with an industry-leading organization that will help educate our associates on the issues individuals face with respect to gender. 

Community Investment
While the need for social justice spans many systems and sectors, we focus specifically on mitigating bias in retail because we are confident that is where we can have the most direct and meaningful impact on our global footprint on a day-to-day basis. To help guide our actions and connect us to civil rights and other DEI leaders, we are partnering with Open to All, a nationwide nonprofit nondiscrimination program that believes everyone should be welcome regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and more. 

Additionally, this year, Pink is making a $250K donation to long-standing partner Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBTQIA+ students. We're continuing our partnership with Point Foundation, the nation's largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQIA+ students of merit. Over the last three years, we've donated $1.4M to the nonprofit.
 
Making Our Position Known
In 2022, we signed the Human Rights Campaign's Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQIA+ State Legislation, sending a clear message to legislators on where businesses like ours stand — with the LGBTQIA+ community and in opposition to harmful laws.