A new UK-wide census is aiming to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the fashion industry.
London Fashion Week organiser the British Fashion Council (BFC) has teamed up with non-profit group The Outsiders Perspective and consultancy Fashion Minority Report to launch ‘The Fashion DEI Census’.
Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, told Vogue Business: “The last few years have been a wake-up call that we have the power to change the landscape rather than accept the status quo, and while many organisations have taken the time to reflect, creating an inclusive culture and improving workforce DEandI (diversity equity and inclusion) has not been high enough on the industry’s agenda.
“This census is an urgent plea for the whole industry to stand for progress.”
A link accessed through the BFC’s website which has been sent to brands and key industry leaders will allow them to input data to allow the trio to measure demographics across all jobs in the business – from retail workers and freelance stylists to luxury brand executives.
The voluntary survey closes on 18 September and includes questions on age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and social mobility, as well as evaluating feelings of “belonging” and how individuals feel their company is progressing in DEandI.
In the UK, data regulations prevent companies from gathering such information unless it is given voluntarily.
Jamie Gill, founder of The Outsiders Perspective – which helps people from underrepresented backgrounds working outside the industry access networking and employment opportunities in fashion – who is also chair of the BFC’s diversity and inclusion committee, said: “There have been small nuggets of data captured here and there (on diversity in British fashion), but nothing on an industry-wide level.
“We want to take stock of where we are as an industry and analyse that against other existing data like the UK census, London data or data from other industries.”
The data will feed into a review of the state of DEandI in the UK fashion industry and will be published later this year.
