LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton

LVMH displays a strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. In addition to being a signatory to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the company has established a gender strategy that goes beyond general support for diversity and inclusion to include an organisation-wide commitment to gender representation, for instance through training, coaching, mentoring and support for gender diversity programmes. The company has identified the board of directors as responsible for its diversity efforts, including gender. Furthermore, LVMH has engaged its employees via surveys on topics such as gender equality in leadership and has integrated their feedback into its policies and practices. While LVMH aims to achieve 50:50 gender parity in key positions by 2020, it does not disclose additional specific, time-bound targets related to gender.

The company has a gender-responsive grievance mechanism that considers the specific needs of its women employees, for instance guaranteeing confidentiality and anonymity, allowing concerns to be reported to someone other than the direct supervisor via a telephone line or by email, and ensuring non-retaliation and protection of the aggrieved party. The grievance mechanism provides information in ten languages. No details were found regarding whether supply chain workers have access to this grievance mechanism or whether suppliers are required to establish their own grievance mechanisms for workers to raise gender-related and other concerns.

LVMH 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 status. It also requires corrective action to be taken if these issues are identified and works with the supplier to draw up a corrective action plan. Furthermore, if a supplier or subcontractor is unwilling to meet the requirements detailed in the plan, the relationship is terminated.

LVMH considers the fair representation of women in its workplace and publicly discloses the gender composition across various levels of leadership at least annually. With a workforce that is 73% female, the company maintains gender balance – 40-60% women – on its board of directors (40%) and among senior management (42%). However, there is a gender imbalance among senior executives (17%) and in middle management positions (65%). The company discloses the gender breakdown of promotions as well as the gender composition of its workforce by occupational function.

LVMH offers professional development programmes with specific support for women, for example through its SHERO programme, which offers career development tools for women employees. This is a part of the EllesVMH programme which hosts a range of initiatives such as EllesVMH coaching and DARE EllesVMH, which ultimately aim to improve the gender balance within the company.

In the supply chain, the company addresses the systemic discrimination that women face by requiring its suppliers to have a non-discrimination policy that explicitly protects pregnant and married women workers. No information was found about whether LVMH actively procures from women-owned businesses or takes specific actions to increase the procurement spend directed to these businesses. Neither were details available regarding recognition agreements between suppliers and local trade unions or collective bargaining agreements currently in place in the supply chain.

While LVMH reports on its gender pay gap in the United Kingdom and the Gender Equality Index in France, where the company scored 91 of 100, thereby complying with national regulation, no information was found regarding the gender pay gap across its global operations.

In terms of family-friendly benefits, the company does not disclose a global policy of providing at least 14 weeks of paid primary carer leave and two weeks of paid secondary carer leave, as recommended by the International Labour Organization. However, to promote the return to work after leave, women employees can work part-time following maternity leave or child adoption. The company also offers childcare in day-care centres. While LVMH provides remote work options to its employees, no information was found on whether it offers flexible working hours.

In the supply chain, there is no information to suggest that the company requires suppliers to extend formal contracts to their workers or a living wage. Neither are there details indicating that suppliers are required to provide paid carer leave or to offer other key family-friendly benefits.

No publicly available information was found to suggest that LVMH covers any additional costs surrounding the maternal, mental or sexual and reproductive health needs specific to its women employees. Neither were details available regarding the company’s efforts to address the specific health, safety and hygiene needs of women workers in the supply chain, for example by requiring suppliers to provide adequately lit factory facilities and toilets separated by gender. Furthermore, LVMH has not made a public commitment to provide workers with gender-responsive health information and services, for example by requiring suppliers to have an on-site clinic with credentialed health providers.

LVMH seeks to prevent violence and harassment through its associated policy and asserts its opposition to all forms of physical, sexual, verbal or psychological violence and harassment across its value chain. The company provides training on preventing workplace violence and developed an e-learning module to help employees better understand its code of conduct. However, no details were found regarding the company’s effective remedy for violence and harassment grievances reported by its employees or supply chain workers, such as not requiring private arbitration or silencing agreements.

No publicly available information was found regarding how LVMH 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.

LVMH drives support for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the communities where it operates through a number of initiatives. For example, it partnered with French charity Secours Populaire on Une Journée Pour Soi (‘A Day All Your Own’), an initiative that allows underprivileged women to spend a day focusing on their well-being. Moreover, subsidiary Benefit Cosmetics started the Bold Is Beautiful project in 2015 to empower women and girls through education, access to wellness and financial independence. The project is now active in 21 countries.

LVMH has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by manufacturing masks and gowns for medical personal and production of the essential materials needed in pandemic. LVMH also made donations to the Chinese Red Cross early in the pandemic in the form of medical materials for Wuhan Anti-epidemic Center in Hubei province, ground zero of the outbreak. Furthermore, LVMH’s maisons have made specific donations and contributions to their communities affected by the pandemic. For example, Bvlgari pledged to manufacture hundreds of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and donated to an Italian research institution that is investigating how to stop the pandemic. Fendi also donated €100,000 through its foundation to the intensive care unit of Presidio Sanitario Columbus hospital in Rome.