As reported in our last issue, Nike announced last month the departure of Trevor Edwards, president of the Nike brand, and another top executive, Jayme Martin, vice president and general manager of global categories. Mark Parker, chairman, president and chief executive of the Nike group, indirectly indicated in an internal memo that the unexpected action followed reports of “behavior occurring within our organization that does not reflect our core values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment.”
Nike didn't reveal the nature of the alleged misconduct, but a report in the Wall Street Journal attributed the resignations to allegations that Edwards and Martin “protected male subordinates who engaged in behavior that was demeaning to female colleagues” and “their lieutenants bullied people who weren't in their group … such as women and individuals from foreign countries.” Another report alleged that Edwards had criticized certain retailer partners as being “mediocre.”
Another internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal and CNBC quoted Nike's executive vice president of global human resources, Monique Matheson, as stating that the company “has failed to gain traction” in recruiting and promoting women and minorities to senior level positions.
According to these and other reports, Nike's global staff of 74,000 employees is relatively balanced in terms of gender, with 52 percent men against 48 percent women. However, Matheson noted that only 29 percent of the company's vice presidents are women. Furthermore, in the U.K., men who work for Nike earn 10 percent more than women in the wholesale division and 3 percent more at retail.
On the other hand, Nike boasted one year ago that, for the first time, slightly more than half of its U.S. staff consisted for ethnic minorities. The company has worked hard in recent years to clean up its act in terms of inclusion. As the 55-year-old Edwards was touted to be the successor of the 62-year-old Mark Parker. Edwards' announced “retirement,” which will become effective on Aug. 10, is sounding a strong bell in the sector; similar to what has been happening in Hollywood circles.
Lululemon sounded a similar bell with the departure of Laurent Potdevin as chief executive of the company, where women should normally play an even more important role. Meanwhile, the Adidas Group has reportedly joined a partnership with Lean In, an American organization that fights for gender equality in the workplace.
Adidas and Reebok will promote a campaign launched by Lean In through its physical stores in the U.S. and their websites. The campaign criticizes the gap in wages between men and women for similar functions, estimated at 20 percent in the U.S. According to Adidas, the gap inside the group is only 2 percent. Lean In was founded by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook.
