It has not heighted because of bad press, which is what people would assume…it’s heightened because of the work that we’re putting in, in creating these workshops and changing some of the policies that we have.” Ezinne highlights a crucial part of DEI: for initiatives to really be successful, there must be an evaluation and modification of policies, practices and procedures that prevent equitable systems. Ezinne explains, “I think the challenge, especially with us that are in…diversity and inclusion in corporate America it’s not a direct one to one so I can’t say because of this training, we saw this but what I can say is that overall the level of awareness has completely heightened. It is an especially effective practice for individuals who are resistant. The idea of using reflections to enhance the quality of diversity training has been supported by research.

For people to have more of a reflective experience as to what their contribution may be to fostering diversity and inclusion.”Įzinne Kwubiri, North America Head, Inclusion & Diversity at H&M The Street Sensei (Kim Geronimo) What I love about it is that it goes a step further than just regular unconscious bias training…asking them ‘when was the last time you an opinion outside of your general team? How do you go about getting focus groups? Where is a time you felt isolated about a decision and how did it make you feel?’ The concept of it is…peeling the layers. “Layers is an interactive learning workshop where the teams come together, and we talk about a bunch of different biases and identifying gaps amongst their teams or even them as an individual that may be hindering a business decision.

“Since then, we’ve actually…fully launched our additional training program called Layers,” Ezinne shares. In November of 2018 the company hired Ezinne Kwubiri as the North America Head of Inclusion and Diversity and she has become an agent for change and innovation at the company. It’s been a little over two years since H&M was embroiled in controversy following the release of an ad that featured a Black child wearing a sweatshirt that read “coolest monkey in the jungle.” Since the misstep, H&M has made a more concerted effort to put diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the forefront.

H and m ad campaign 2018