Inditex

Inditex has not made a high-level, public commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment across its value chain. It has, however, established a gender strategy that includes targets focusing on protection against discrimination, harassment and abuse in the workplace, women’s reproductive and feminine hygiene needs as well as women’s empowerment in the supply chain. The company has also identified a chief diversity officer who supervises its global Diversity and Inclusion Policy and holds responsibility for gender equality at the company. Additionally, its subsidiaries have launched work plans that promote gender diversity, specifically through the GEEIS (Gender Equality European and International Standard) certification. It is unclear whether Inditex engages its own employees, such as performing surveys, or external stakeholders on gender issues.

The company has a gender-responsive grievance mechanism that reflects an understanding of gender roles and the inequalities women face in the workplace, for instance guaranteeing confidentiality, ensuring non-retaliation and protection of the aggrieved party, as well as made available in relevant languages. The company’s supply chain workers also have access to this grievance mechanism.

Inditex screens for gender-related issues among its suppliers as part of its audit processes, including sexual harassment, gender-based violence and discrimination against women based on their pregnancy or marital status. It also requires corrective action to be taken if these issues are identified.

There is limited information available to indicate that Inditex considers the fair representation of women in the workplace. While the company’s workforce is 75% female and a majority of middle management positions are held by women (79%), only two out of its nine board members are women (22%). An even smaller proportion of its senior executives are women (18%). Regarding professional development efforts, the company does not specifically mention women-focused programmes. On the other hand, Inditex discloses the gender breakdown of turnover among its employees, reporting a 53% turnover among women in 2018.

In the supply chain, Inditex considers the systemic discrimination that women face and requires its suppliers to have a non-discrimination policy that explicitly protects pregnant and married women workers. It also supports suppliers in offering professional development opportunities to their women workers through social dialogue and stakeholder engagement, for example by participating in the ILO’s MIG SCORE programme to promote gender equality in four of its Turkish factories.

No information was found on whether Inditex requires its suppliers to have recognition agreements with local trade unions, though the company itself recognises trade unions and protects participating workers from all forms of discrimination. The company has also carried out awareness-raising and training activities in partnership with IndustriALL Global Union on workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Further, the company provides ongoing training to facilitate the payment of living wages.

While Inditex has collaborated with the ACT to create a purchasing practices self-assessment tool to identify what vendor criteria should be considered, no details were available about whether the company actively procures from women-owned businesses or takes specific actions to increase the procurement spend directed to these businesses.

Inditex addresses the fair compensation of its women employees. It reports its global gender pay gap along with a regional breakdown and states that in terms of aggregate remuneration, women are paid 0.8% more than men. Inditex has also joined ClosinGap, which aims to address the economic impact of the wage gap on society. However, there are few details available regarding whether pay gaps exist across pay bands or occupational functions.

In terms of family-friendly benefits, the company does not disclose a global policy of paid primary or secondary carer leave or indicate whether it offers employees childcare support. It does, however, offer flexible working hours to its employees and monitors the return-to-work rate of employees after primary and secondary carer leave and their retention a year later.

In the supply chain, there was no information found on whether Inditex requires its suppliers to offer formal contracts, although suppliers are required to pay a living wage that covers workers’ basic needs and the needs of their families. Furthermore, the company is a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance, which promotes the transition towards a digital economy as a means to reduce poverty and promote inclusive growth, and the Action, Collaboration, Transformation initiative, which supports the payment of living wages through collective bargaining.

There were no details regarding how Inditex considers the unpaid care burden of workers in its supply chain by requiring suppliers to provide paid carer leave, childcare or other family support. That being said, the company is undertaking to support working mothers, for example by incentivising suppliers to develop childcare facilities, as part of its Sakhi Gender Equity project in India.

No information was found to suggest that Inditex covers additional costs surrounding maternal and mental health services or the sexual and reproductive health needs specific to its women employees.

Beyond providing access to drinking water, there were no details on whether the company requires its suppliers to consider the specific health, safety and hygiene needs of their women workers, for example by requiring suppliers to provide adequately lit factory facilities and toilets separated by gender. Neither was there information to suggest the company monitors the gender breakdown of workers’ injuries, fatalities, turnover or absenteeism rates.

Inditex has made a public commitment to gender-responsive health information and services in its supply chain. It is currently working with suppliers through the health pillar of its Strategy for the Empowerment of Women in the Supply Chain in a number of initiatives, such as the Sakhi project in India to deliver clinic services and provide access to health information and services for their women workers in areas such as family planning and reproductive health as well as special protection during pregnancy and nursing. However, the company does not require its suppliers to have an on-site clinic with a credentialed health provider.

Inditex seeks to prohibit violence and harassment through its zero tolerance of any kind of discrimination. It takes additional action to help prevent violence and harassment in the workplace through its support of the EQUAL Community Initiative, co-financed by the European Commission, which encourages companies to implement measures for reducing workplace gender inequality while fighting all forms of discrimination. However, no details were found regarding violence and harassment training or the company’s effective remedy to violence and harassment grievances in the workplace, such as not requiring private arbitration or silencing agreements.

Inditex requires its suppliers to have a policy in place that prohibits physical punishment and sexual or any other form of harassment, and that the policy be publicly displayed in relevant languages. Moreover, the company’s Strategy for the Empowerment of Women in the Supply Chain includes a protection pillar, which encourages suppliers to develop their own policies on zero tolerance on workplace harassment. An example of these activities is the Sakhi project, which helps the company better understand the issues faced by women factory workers in India and implement effective grievance mechanisms specifically for abuse, harassment or discrimination claims.

Inditex states that it ensures promotional activities are conducted in an honest manner so as not to provide false or deceptive information which may mislead its customers or third parties. However, no information was found regarding how it addresses non-discriminatory practices in marketing and advertising, for example by committing to avoid harmful gender stereotypes or ensuring gender-responsive communications and engagement with its customers to support gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Inditex drives gender equality and women’s empowerment in the communities where it operates by supporting prenatal care through the Every Mother Counts programme. Similarly, in 2018, Inditex employees chose to financially support a project run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Guinea-Bissau that provided women and their babies care during childbirth. The company is also committed to helping victims of domestic violence, namely through its long-running Salta project. Moreover, in 2013, the Inditex Group and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain executed a partnership agreement to promote awareness-raising in the field of violence against women and job placement for victims.

Inditex has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways. These include store closures and working closely with suppliers to ensure they are following official guidance to protect the health of factory workers during the pandemic. It has also ensured that all orders produced or in production during this period were completely paid for according to the original payment terms. Additionally, the company has publicly endorsed a call for action in the garment industry, joining the International Labour Organization, the International Organisation of Employers, the International Trade Union Confederation, IndustriALL Global Union and other major brands to mobilise support for manufacturers and workers that have experienced economic disruption caused by COVID-19.