DIVERSITY REPORT
DECEMBER 2023
EXECUTIVE UPDATE
In June 2020, we made a public commitment to our staff, clients and communities worldwide to take meaningful steps to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplaces and the markets in which we operate. As part of that commitment, we recognised the importance of holding ourselves accountable through the publication of regular reports on our actions and progress. Our first diversity and inclusion report was published in August 2020, followed by updates in November 2020, May 2021 and October 2022. Since our last report was published, we have continued to advance our mission to champion diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our business and are pleased to share that progress with you in our December 2023 Diversity Report.
Of particular note, in the current reporting period, we launched ZIMMERMANN’s inaugural D&I Roadmap to assist in the prioritisation, coordination and tracking of the success of diversity and inclusion initiatives across the group. The D&I Roadmap has four core objectives: (i) attract, develop, and engage a diverse workforce, (ii) build a culture that promotes diverse perspectives and voices, (iii) establish meaningful partnerships to support our local communities, and (iv) transparency in communication (internally & externally) on our diversity and inclusion progress.
We also extended membership of the D&I Group to ensure that we continue to provide a diverse perspective that reflects the diversity of our global workforce as we extend our geographical footprint and grow our team.
Consistent with prior reporting periods, we continued our investment in D&I learning and development in the current reporting period, with over 85 leaders across Australia, the United States and Europe participating in immersive D&I learning programs. We also added a new e-learning module to our learning management system on allyship aimed at helping our team members understand how they can support underrepresented individuals and marginalised communities and contribute to workplace diversity and inclusion.
We also continued to invest in leadership development with over 30 leaders globally participating in the ZIMMERMANN Leadership Series in the current reporting period.
Reflecting our commitment to inclusive hiring, we again offered two paid First Nations internship programs through our partnership with Career Trackers. We also continued our partnership with Disability Services Australia and extended our partnership program through a new partnership with The Social Outfit to source refugee and new migrant candidates for open roles in production and quality assurance, which led to two offers of permanent employment. We also engaged The Social Outfit trainees for seasonal e-commerce roles.
We continued to strengthen employee policies and benefits in the current reporting period, extending our flexible work policy in the US and Europe and introducing summer hours for our Australian workforce. We also extended our Employee Assistance Program to include a self-referral option and a broader well-being offering.
Also, aligning with our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace and culture, the D&I Group implemented a diversity and inclusion email box in the current reporting period to receive employee suggestions and feedback regarding diversity and inclusion. In addition, awareness of the D&I Group was included in onboarding modules and a D&I section was included in the quarterly sustainability newsletter to promote workforce engagement with diversity and inclusion.
As part of our commitment to ensuring that our shows, campaigns, and brand content reflect the diversity of the different communities we operate in, we continued to ensure our online content reflects models from a variety of racial or ethnic backgrounds in the current reporting period and exceeded our representation targets in these areas.
We also continued our external diversity and inclusion efforts, making donations to the International Committee of the Red Cross to support its humanitarian efforts and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) Foundation to support its Doctorial Fellowship Program. We further extended our commitment to corporate social responsibility with the establishment of the ZIMMERMANN Human Rights Working Group.
We also continued our commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and equal opportunity for employees in our supply chain by extending the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct, conducting supplier audits, and supporting suppliers through training and capacity building. We also continued our partnerships with the non-profit organisation Nest to conduct wage and workplace diagnostics to ensure worker wellbeing for the artisans we work with.
Regarding our workforce composition, we have made progress in advancing ethnic diversity across our workforce. Globally, our diversity and inclusion survey results indicate we have increased our ethnic and racial diversity with 58% of respondents globally identifying as White compared with 66% in the past three reporting periods. While the gender composition of our overall workforce has remained steady year-on-year, the percentage of women in Upper and Middle Management has increased to 67% and 86% respectively in August 2023 compared with 60% and 82% in August 2022.
Our latest diversity and inclusion survey conducted in August 2023 and completed by over 60% of the workforce reported 88% of respondents rated their team highly in diversity and inclusion (average score 8.07 on a scale of 1 (not diverse and inclusive at all) to 10 (very diverse and inclusive). When considering the organisation more broadly, 60% of respondents rated ZIMMERMANN as an organisation highly in diversity and inclusion (average score of 7.67 on a scale of 1 (not diverse and inclusive at all) to 10 (very diverse and inclusive).
Although we are proud of the work we have done to advance diversity and inclusion in our workplace and communities and celebrate the efforts and achievements of our team, we know that we have more work to do. We remain committed to listening and learning to improve and extend our efforts. We invite you to follow our progress through future updates in the People and Culture section of ZIMMERMANN.COM where you can also review our diversity and inclusion statement and commitments.
Regards,
Chris Oliver, CEO
Simone Zimmermann, Founder and COO
Nicky Zimmermann, Founder and Creative Director
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
At ZIMMERMANN, we are on an ongoing journey to build a socially responsible brand. We are committed to empowering diverse perspectives and voices, both within our company and in the communities in which we operate.
We value creativity and know that great creativity requires different voices and perspectives. We seek to create a working environment that is diverse, supportive, respectful, and encouraging, and that values uniqueness. We take meaningful action to advance the diversity of our workforce and to promote an inclusive culture, providing resources and training to our talented teams to develop their diversity and inclusion capability. We regularly review our policies, practices, and employee benefits for inclusivity. We endorse a zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination.
As a global brand, we recognise we have an opportunity and a responsibility to disrupt prejudices and promote equity beyond our workplace. We continue to seek diverse and inclusive representation in our campaigns and shows. We recognise the diversity of our clients and seek to understand and meet their varied needs, preferences and sensitivities within a viable commercial framework. We partner with organisations that share our commitment to improving the employment of traditionally underrepresented talent and the wellbeing and security of marginalised groups in the communities in which we operate.
We know that meaningful change requires honest reflection, genuine commitment, and ongoing learning. We continue to actively listen to and learn from our staff, clients, and communities and engage with experts on how we can advance diversity and inclusion both as an employer and as a brand. To drive accountability, we track and regularly report on our progress to our teams, partners, and communities.
OUR COMMITMENT
As previously announced as part of our June 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Statement, ZIMMERMANN has made the following commitments:
• Reinforcing zero tolerance for racism or discrimination in our workplaces
• Increasing diversity in recruitment across our business
• Ongoing training for all our teams – corporate and retail – to support our commitment to diverse and inclusive workplaces
• Ensuring we have diverse representation in our campaigns and shows – both behind the scenes and on the runway
• Partnering with other organisations in the communities we operate to improve the participation of diverse talent in our industry and to promote safe, respectful and equitable communities
• Encouraging our partners to make similar commitments and to be active in the conversation about how brands can be a force for change
• Establishing a Diversity and Inclusion Group (D&I Group) to lead and drive our actions
Our commitments are supported by substantive actions, initiatives, and projects to drive measurable results, and are reviewed and extended over time to advance our progress.
OUR PROGRESS
Governance
D&I Group
In July 2020, we established the ZIMMERMANN Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Group. Chaired by our Chief Operating Officer, the D&I Group leads, drives, and tracks the delivery of our commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. The D&I Group is composed of individuals across the key functions of the organisation and is reflective of our footprint and the diversity of our workforce, including but not limited to gender, generational diversity, nationality and ethnicity, disability, geography, and office location. In the current reporting period, the D&I Group extended its membership to ensure that we continue to provide a diverse perspective that reflects the diversity of our global workforce as we extend our geographical footprint and grow our team. We have also established a revolving observer seat to provide more employees from our business with an opportunity to contribute to the group. Also, to ensure our efforts are results-driven and best practice, the D&I Group has engaged an external expert to provide guidance and recommendations on its initiatives and progress. D&I Group members meet four times per year (twice formally and twice informally) to review progress on our stated commitments, explore new opportunities for building a more equitable organisation, and agree on new commitments to advance our progress.
D&I Roadmap
In the current reporting period, the D&I Group implemented ZIMMERMANN’s inaugural D&I Roadmap to assist in the prioritisation, coordination and tracking of the success of diversity and inclusion initiatives across the group. The D&I Roadmap has four core objectives: (i) attract, develop, and engage a diverse workforce, (ii) build a culture that promotes diverse perspectives and voices, (iii) establish meaningful partnerships to support our local communities, and (iv) transparency in communication (internally & externally) on our diversity and inclusion progress.
Learning and Development
Immersive Learning
Reflecting our commitment to developing the diversity and inclusion capability of our team, we have implemented mandatory face-to-face unconscious bias training for all leaders and managers customised for our industry and tailored to support the achievement of our diversity and inclusion goals. Topics include managing unconscious bias in recruitment and fostering safe and inclusive workplaces. In the current reporting period, over 85 leaders across Australia, the United States and Europe participated in these immersive learning programs. As we expand our geographical footprint and grow our workforce, we are exploring ways to ensure our face-to-face diversity and inclusion learning reflects different voices and lived experiences relevant to the markets in which we operate.
Foundational Learning
Our global learning management solution, Z.Learning, covers mandatory workplace behaviour content tailored to each region in our business. Every team member, whether in our stores or offices, is required to complete courses relevant to their region and these courses form part of the onboarding of every new team member joining us at ZIMMERMANN. Topics include anti-racism and EEO, modern slavery, wellbeing, anti-bullying and harassment, and diversity and inclusion. The diversity and inclusion modules include understanding diversity and inclusion, creating value through diversity and inclusion, understanding unconscious bias, strategies for tackling unconscious bias, your unique diversity in the workforce, and identifying diversity in others. In the current reporting period, we added a new diversity and inclusion module on allyship aimed at helping our team members understand how they can support underrepresented individuals and marginalised communities and contribute to workplace diversity and inclusion. Also, recognising our commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inclusion, our learning management solution has a module on Acknowledgement of Country and Indigenous cultural awareness. We track completion rates of our e-learning modules and seek to engage staff through regular reminders and manager communications.
Diversity Council of Australia
In addition to in-house diversity and inclusion learning and development, as a Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) corporate member, all ZIMMERMANN employees have access to a broad range of learning programs, events, research, and practical resources to develop their own and others' diversity and inclusion capabilities.
ZIMMERMANN Leadership Series
The ZIMMERMANN Leadership Series is a bespoke leadership program designed for our valued executives and emerging leaders. The series is run annually for new executives and managers. Since its implementation in 2021, over 170 of our leaders and managers from Australia, the US and Europe have completed the ZIMMERMANN Leadership Series. Looking ahead, we are seeking to implement an extension module for leaders who have completed the series to refresh and embed their leadership learning and development as they progress in their careers.
Recruitment
Inclusive Hiring Practices
Reflecting our commitment to increasing the diversity of our recruitment, we have implemented processes to ensure all job advertisements are welcoming to diverse talent. Also, all hiring managers must undertake unconscious bias training tailored to their role, and our retail hiring managers undertake mandatory best-practice recruitment training. In the current reporting period, we extended our commitment to inclusive hiring by seeking to improve accessibility during recruitment through awareness-raising initiatives and targeted hiring.
Partnerships
ZIMMERMANN is proud of its partnerships with organisations committed to the employment of traditionally underrepresented talent, including CareerTrackers, Disability Services Australia, and The Social Outfit in Australia, and Black in Fashion Council in the U.S.
CareerTrackers is an Australian non-profit with a mission to build Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation across sectors of professional employment and nurture emerging leaders for our future. The organisation works with students from Year 12 through to university, linking them to multi-year paid professional internships in relation to their dreams and aspirations. Partnering with employers, universities, and a broader ecosystem of Indigenous services, CareerTrackers create a long-term sustainable pathway for students to enter professional employment. ZIMMERMANN’s partnership with CareerTrackers supports Fashion Textiles Design students with the goal to create a full-time role at the completion of their studies. The first design student commenced their placement in November 2020. In the 2021-2022 reporting period, ZIMMERMANN continued its partnership with CareerTrackers, offering two paid internship programs and covering travel costs for two Indigenous university students in its design department. In the current reporting period, ZIMMERMANN again offered two paid internship programs including travel and accommodation with one intern undertaking both a summer and winter placement.
Disability Services Australia is a social enterprise organisation supporting people living with disability to enter the workforce. In partnership with Disability Services, in the previous reporting period, ZIMMERMANN delivered a pre-employment readiness program for eight participants who undertook a nationally recognised course in warehouse fulfilment and supplemented their learnings with on-the-job training at ZIMMERMANN. As a result of this program, all participants learnt new skills and enhanced their employability opportunities in the warehousing sector, including at ZIMMERMANN. Four trainees were offered seasonal contracts at ZIMMERMANN, with two trainees accepting ongoing casual positions. In the current reporting period, ZIMMERMANN continued its partnership with Disability Services Australia by partnering with the organisation in the preparation of boxes offsite for the online team during busy periods.
The Social Outfit provides employment and training to people from refugee and new migrant communities, with a particular focus on female humanitarian migrants. In the latest reporting period, ZIMMERMANN partnered with The Social Outfit to source candidates for open roles in production and quality assurance, which led to two offers of permanent employment. We also engaged The Social Outfit trainees for seasonal e-commerce roles.
BIFC (Black in Fashion Council) is an American organisation established to represent and secure the advancement of Black individuals in the fashion and beauty industry in the United States. BIFC envisions workplaces where Black people are represented and amplified at every level, holding jobs in both C-suite and junior-level positions, and working alongside allies to create diverse spaces that directly reflect what the world looks like at large. To achieve these goals, BIFC hosts annual Career fairs to create opportunities for the Black community to successfully enter careers within the fashion industry and in turn create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry. BIFC also hosts town hall meetings with guest speakers and professionals from across the industry who share their insight and provide suggestions on navigating a career in fashion. ZIMMERMANN's partnership with BIFC allows us to continue to work towards building a foundation for inclusion and diversity in the US, utilizing the BIFC resources and guidance. BIFC will also partner with us to provide feedback, counsel and amplification of ways in which we are delivering on our commitments. In addition, we have access to the BIFC Jobs Board to list roles and search for diverse candidates to fill roles.
ZIMMERMANN is actively seeking to strengthen and expand its partnerships with specialist diversity recruiters and trainee organisations across our markets. We look forward to sharing details in future updates.
Graduate Training Program
We have introduced a structured and paid Graduate Training Program in Australia to introduce talented young people to our industry more effectively than traditional short-term work experience programs. We have set a diversity target for the program such that at least one of the three Design graduates will be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student or from a minority background.
We have resolved to use the Australian program as a template in our US business in lieu of unpaid internships to create a better training experience and a more positive work environment. This is currently a work in progress, and we look forward to sharing updates in the future.
Careers Day
Supplementing our external recruitment initiatives, our annual Careers Day provides all team members with an opportunity to learn more about the varied opportunities available to them across our business so that they can continue to acquire new skills and develop their careers at ZIMMERMANN.
Workforce Diversity
We recognise that to create substantive and enduring changes in the diversity of our business, we must be clear about where we stand today. In order to hold ourselves accountable and make quantifiable changes, we must also be more transparent.
We have taken the time to review our organisation and learn more about our team to ensure that we better reflect the diversity of our clients and our communities in different parts of the world. In the US, collecting information on the gender, race and ethnicity composition of our workforce is required as part of the Equal Employment Opportunity survey and data (EEO-1 Data). In Australia and Europe, organisations may only compile this information through voluntary disclosure. To gain more visibility beyond the US, we conducted an optional and anonymous survey in July 2020. To track our progress, we repeated the survey in May 2021, August 2022, and July 2023.
A summary of the diversity information we have collected about our team is set out below.
ZIMMERMANN’s GLOBAL WORKFORCE
ZIMMERMANN has 20 retail stores in Australia, 25 in the USA, 1 in the UK, 4 in France, 6 in Italy, 3 in Spain and 2 in China. ZIMMERMANN’s head office is in Sydney. We have operations and sales offices in Paris and New York City. ZIMMERMANN also operates a digital business globally.
Approximately 1069 people are employed by ZIMMERMANN in Australia (65%), the USA (19%), the UK (1%), France (7%), Spain (2%), Italy (4%) and China (2%). Regarding organisational function, 41% of our team is employed in Corporate/Office roles and 59% in Retail/Store roles.
Employees participated in our 2023 voluntary survey from each of our corporate offices located in Sydney, New York and Paris, as well as our 61 stores across cities in Australia, USA, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and China. In total, 629 of our employees globally completed the survey (Australia 53%, USA 24% of respondents, EU/UK 23% of respondents). Respondents comprised 365 retail (58%) and 262 corporate (42%) employees.
Currently, our team is made up of people from more than 55 nationalities, up from 52 nationalities reported in 2022 and 30 in 2021. The largest nationalities represented are Australia (224 employees), US (87), Italy (54), France (50), China (20), UK (14), Brazil (12), and Spain (13).
Data for gender, age, race and ethnicity are provided below. Due to reporting or systems constraints, some gender diversity data is presented using binary categories of male and female. ZIMMERMANN respects that gender is non-binary and adopts a more inclusive identification in our voluntary global survey.
Gender Diversity
Gender ratios of ZIMMERMANNS’s global workforce overall (Source: self-identification data from employee survey)
Gender ratios of ZIMMERMANNS’s global workforce by market (Source: HR system)
Gender ratios of ZIMMERMANNS’s highest governance body (Source: HR system)
Gender ratios of ZIMMERMANNS’s offices by rank (Source: HR system)
Gender ratios of ZIMMERMANNS’s stores by role (Source: HR system)
Age Diversity
Percentage of employees by age and rank in ZIMMERMANN’s offices (Source: HR system)
Percentage of employees by age and role in ZIMMERMANN’s stores (Source: HR system)
Age Diversity
ZIMMERMANNS’s global workforce overall (Source: self-identification data from employee survey)
ZIMMERMANN in the USA
In the United States, we collect diversity data to comply with EEO-1 reporting requirements of the Federal Government. A summary of our most recent EEO-1 Report is provided below.
Gender Diversity
Race/Ethnic Diversity
Content Diversity
Shows and Campaigns
We have committed to ensuring that our shows, campaigns and brand content reflect the diversity of the different communities we operate in.
The casting of our runway shows continues to evolve to present greater diversity as we have moved from our first presentations in Australia, to shows in Paris and New York over the past several years, to digital presentations during the pandemic. To view our most recent runway castings, you may visit our Spring 2024 Collection Presentation and our Fall 2023 Collection Presentation.
Like our shows and presentations, our campaigns are an important opportunity for us to express the creative vision for our season, as well as our commitment to diversity, and we continue to work to increase diverse representation across our campaigns. To view our most recent campaigns, please visit our Resort RTW 2024 Campaign, Resort Swim 2024 Campaign, Fall RTW 2023 Campaign and Summer Swim 2023 Campaign.
Social Media
We are committed to providing more consistent racial, ethnic, and cultural representation and diversity in our social media feeds, the content of which is commonly derived from our shows, presentations, campaigns, and brand events. As part of this commitment, we have set a benchmark of ensuring at least 25% of online images reflect models with a minority racial or ethnic background, which we exceeded in the current reporting period.
Inclusive Workplace & Culture
Workplace Conduct
At ZIMMERMANN, business is conducted to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, respect and fairness when dealing with employees, customers and business partners. Our expectations regarding integrity, legality, honesty and ethical conduct extend to our employees globally and all third parties engaged in commercial relationships with us. The standards of behaviour are established in our Code of Ethics which is provided upon hiring alongside the company’s Policies & Procedures. We have also implemented employee education regarding reporting inappropriate workplace behaviour. In this regard, we have in place anonymous reporting hotlines to raise workplace incidents and seek advice in all regions. We expect our employees to act in compliance with the law and to report any violation following the procedure detailed in our Whistleblower Policy. For any concerns raised, an initial investigation is undertaken by the Human Resources department, and the leadership team is kept informed throughout the process. Care is taken to protect the confidentiality and safety of the whistleblower.
Employee Survey
As part of our ongoing efforts to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace, we implemented an annual Diversity and Inclusion survey in 2020 to measure workforce diversity and tap perceptions of inclusion, equity, and belonging. The survey is used to track our progress and provide us with insights into areas where we can improve. The latest survey conducted in August 2023 and completed by over 60% of the workforce reported 88% of respondents rated their team highly in diversity and inclusion (average score 8.07 on a scale of 1 (not diverse and inclusive at all) to 10 (very diverse and inclusive). When considering the organisation more broadly, 60% of respondents rated ZIMMERMANN as an organisation highly in diversity and inclusion (average score of 7.67 on a scale of 1 (not diverse and inclusive at all) to 10 (very diverse and inclusive). While we are pleased to learn that most of our staff hold positive perceptions of diversity and inclusion and that these perceptions have held steady from the previous reporting period, survey results highlighted some areas of opportunity for us to further strengthen inclusion at ZIMMERMANN and we continue to explore and implement targeted solutions.
Inclusive Policies and Benefits
Actions we have taken to date to foster an inclusive workplace and culture include reviewing our internal training materials and employee policies and benefits to ensure that these are inclusive and aligned with our core values. As an example, as a result of this review, we implemented inclusive uniform guidelines in our stores. In addition, in response to a review of our employee benefits, every full-time employee at ZIMMERMANN is now entitled to an Annual Personal Day, being an additional day of paid leave per calendar year, to celebrate or observe an event of personal or cultural significance.
We have also implemented initiatives to support the well-being of our employees, including a new flexible work policy that aims to provide team members with increased flexibility with their work schedule and location of work, while allowing ZIMMERMANN to maintain a collaborative, progressive and productive work environment. In the current reporting period, we extended our flexible work policy in the US and Europe and introduced summer hours for our Australian workforce. We also extended our Employee Assistance Program in the current reporting period to include a self-referral option and a broader well-being offering. Looking ahead, we are seeking to roll out mental health awareness training across our business in the next reporting period.
Engagement
Aligning with our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace and culture, in the current reporting period, the D&I Group implemented a diversity and inclusion email box (diversityandinclusion@zimmermann.com) to receive employee suggestions and feedback regarding diversity and inclusion. In addition, awareness of the D&I Group was included in onboarding modules and a D&I section was included in the quarterly sustainability newsletter.
Going forward, the D&I Group is seeking to develop a communications plan encompassing regular D&I communication across different channels and incorporating a D&I calendar of events to drive awareness and engagement in diversity and inclusion across the workforce.
We continue to seek and develop opportunities for engaging our workforce in diversity and inclusion and look forward to sharing new initiatives in future updates.
Inclusive Design
Aligning with our core values of integrity and authenticity, we have reviewed and strengthened processes to prevent inadvertent cultural appropriation in our design process.
We have also extended our commitment to inclusion to our clients, expanding our sizing range in response to a regular review of clients' needs.
Corporate Social Responsibility & Community
At ZIMMERMANN, our commitment to inclusion in the broader community is reflected in our partnerships and philanthropic activities.
Philanthropy
With conflicts, health emergencies and natural disasters increasingly affecting people globally, ZIMMERMANN has established a Philanthropic Group led by the Chief Executive Officer to continue supporting communities in need across the pillars of environment, diversity and creativity. In March 2022, we mobilised resources to help the communities impacted by the catastrophic floods in Queensland and New South Wales. Along with other brands in the wider Australian fashion industry, we worked to send suitable and needed clothing supplies via Thread Together[5] and donated to the Queensland and New South Wales Flood Appeal to help the Australian Red Cross provide vital humanitarian support to the people and communities affected by the floods. Concurrently, we donated to The World Food Programme, a global humanitarian organisation which launched an emergency operation to provide food assistance for people affected by the war in Ukraine.
In the current reporting period, we continued our humanitarian efforts with a donation to the International Committee of the Red Cross in support of its efforts in Israel and the Occupied Territories. We also made a three-year commitment to support the Doctorial Fellowship Program of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) Foundation. SIMS’s a partnership between Macquarie University, the University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology for collaborative marine research and innovation, provision of marine research for policy makers and managers, and research training and teaching in the marine sciences to promote the future health of our ocean, and in turn, the health of the planet and its people. The objective of the Doctorial Fellowship Program is to increase the supply of highly qualified marine scientists by encouraging more people to proceed towards a PhD degree in the marine sciences.
Acknowledgement of Country
In Australia, in 2021, we engaged with members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to work with us on developing an Acknowledgement of Country for display in our Australian stores and on our emails and website. An Acknowledgement of Country is a way of showing respect for Traditional Custodians of land across Australia and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to those lands. As part of the adoption of an Acknowledgement of Country, we began our indigenous cultural awareness journey by implementing mandatory training across our retail and corporate workforce.
Supplier Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and equal opportunity for employees in our supply chain and continue to drive the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct and support suppliers through training and capacity building to ensure our supply chain is a safe and respectful environment, and our business partners are transparent and trustworthy, and conduct their business ethically and with integrity.
Percentage of Suppliers that have signed Our Supplier Code of Conduct.
We are also progressing our supply chain mapping to continue assessing social risks across all tiers, including the risk of forced, bonded and child labour. We have mandatory modern slavery training for all employees globally and additional training sessions for teams with procurement responsibilities.
We have engaged an independent third party to conduct supplier audits, which assess social and environmental compliance and the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct in our main production facilities. New sites undergo an audit during the onboarding period if they do not have a recent audit, meet a certain risk profile, or are sites used by ZIMMERMANN Tier 1 and 2 suppliers by spend (irrespective of their risk profile). These suppliers account for over 70% of Zimmermann’s spend. To support our supply chain efforts, the Ethical Capacity Building Programme was rolled out in Tier 2 to support sites that are typically less experienced with audits and need additional training to make long-lasting improvements. The ZIMMERMANN Ethical Capacity Building Programme is delivered in partnership with third-party experts who provide training to the mill management in the implementation of corrective action aimed at the resolution of non-compliance. The most common types of non-compliance addressed span minor health and safety issues, overtime and wage-related non-compliances. The facilities are expected to implement the necessary corrective actions by the end of the programme. Where outstanding issues remain, the facility may be re-enrolled in the programme for a second year.
Worker engagement is integral to our audit process, and we use technology-supported anonymous surveys to collect the workers’ viewpoints across four indicators—labour, health and safety, environment, and management systems. As part of this survey, workers are asked to give their perspectives on the availability and effectiveness of grievance mechanisms, equal treatment between women and men, wages, benefits, and hours of work. The survey results are reviewed alongside the audit reports and inform decisions regarding corrective actions or the facilities’ enrolment in the ZIMMERMANN Ethical Capacity Building Programme. Since its launch in December 2020, the survey has been completed by 1019 supply chain workers. There were 340 respondents during the reporting period, 65% of whom were women.
We have also initiated the rollout of an independent grievance mechanism in key factories in China to provide the workers with a confidential channel to raise complaints. The hotline is currently available in eleven factories, accounting for approximately 50% of our finished goods spend. In addition to providing insight into working conditions at the factories, the provision of an independent grievance mechanism can become a driver of continuous improvement in the factory, providing the factory management with the tools to proactively address issues before they escalate and, ultimately, prevent their reoccurrence.
We have also partnered with the non-profit organisation Nest to conduct wage and workplace diagnostics to ensure worker wellbeing for the artisans we work with. Predominantly women, hand workers in informal supply chains are often unrecognised, and the implementation of their social protections is the exception rather than the norm. Through programmes that support their well-being, responsible growth and creative engagement, Nest aims to build a world of greater gender equity and economic inclusion for the artisan and maker economy.
Additionally, we have been Better Cotton members since December 2020 to improve cotton farming practices globally. Better Cotton’s mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive while protecting and restoring the environment. Its capacity building programme puts farmers and farm workers front and centre, ensuring they can access the necessary tools, training and support they need to continuously improve their practices.
We are also proud signatories to The Fashion Pact and actively participate in the work of this coalition of companies that strive to systemically transform the fashion and textile industry for the better of our planet and people.
Human Rights Working Group
In the current reporting period, we extended our commitment to corporate social responsibility with the establishment of the ZIMMERMANN Human Rights Working Group. As detailed in our Human Rights Policy, ZIMMERMANN is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights according to the principles set out in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the ILO Core Conventions. We follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to guide our due diligence approach and access to remedy. Our assessment of the salient human rights risks and impacts includes our key stakeholder groups, such as our employees, supply chain workers, customers, suppliers, business partners and the broader community in which we operate.
Advocacy
We share the steps we are taking towards positive change with our business partners, advocating to drive diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry through collective change efforts.
Community Feedback
While we regularly receive encouraging and positive feedback from our community, we equally appreciate the feedback on what we can do better. Any complaint or unpleasant experience with our brand from any person is welcomed. We are listening and we are acting. To contact us, please email clientservices@zimmermann.com.
Future Updates
We recognise there is much work to do, and effective change takes time, but we are committed to taking the actions necessary to create a more diverse and inclusive ZIMMERMANN. As our D&I Group continues its work, we will provide regular updates on our progress and the initiatives we are implementing here and in the People and Culture section of ZIMMERMANN.COM
[1] C-level
[2] Directors and Heads of department
[3] Managers
[4] Coordinators, Assistants, Analysts and other technical functions