HBC is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Every team member comes to work with a unique experience, perspective, and identity. This diversity is what makes our organization a vibrant workplace.
Across our portfolio, we take concrete steps and initiatives to celebrate, acknowledge, and support our diverse team members. We continuously monitor these efforts to ensure they are effective and impactful for our team members and our organization’s mission.
PortCo Spotlight
HBC’s portfolio is a collection of iconic brands, each with its own history and character. Just as we support each brand’s identity, it is important that we create space for each team to define what diversity and inclusion mean to them.
We celebrate each of our companies’ willingness to chart their own course. Below are just a few examples of the ways our companies are putting their unique touch on diverse and inclusive environments for team members.
Saks Fifth Avenue:
Diversity in Marketing: Seeing oneself reflected in the workplace is a powerful message. One of HBC’s most well-known portfolio companies, the U.S.-based Saks Fifth Avenue, commits to featuring models who represent a diversity of ethnicity, age, and body type, comprising 50% of its annual editorial casting.
Saks Off Fifth:
ACLU Partnership: Home to some of HBC’s most iconic brands, the United States is where many of Saks OFF 5TH’s team members, designers, brand ambassadors, and valued customers reside. To support its U.S.-based ecosystem, Saks OFF 5TH works with partners like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) to strengthen the U.S.-based communities it serves. The ACLU defends constitutionally guaranteed rights for everyone in America; the commitment supports initiatives focused on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial equity projects.
Convene:
Conscious Conversations: Talking about health and wellness should no longer be taboo – and it isn’t at Convene. Through its “Conscious Conversations” speaking series, Convene gives voice to mental health and full body wellness, all while keeping a DEI focus.
The Bay:
Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn: Transformative and revitalizing actions are core to The Bay’s commitment to recognizing and addressing its colonial history. The Bay transferred the iconic, 96-year-old Portage Avenue building in downtown Winnipeg to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO). Gifting this landmark to the SCO is both a meaningful – and tangible – step in the direction of corporate reconciliation, furthering the company’s dedication to righting past wrongs and working collaboratively and respectfully with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across Canada.
Oshki Wupoowane: The “Blanket Fund” launched on September 30, 2022, with an initial $1 million investment from Hudson's Bay Foundation and a commitment to direct 100% of net proceeds from the sale of all HBC Point Blankets to The Blanket Fund moving forward. Through two grant streams, The Blanket Fund will provide support for indigenous cultural, artistic, and educational activities. Indigenous people, as well as Indigenous-led initiatives and organizations in Canada, are eligible to apply to the Blanket Fund.
Since its launch, The Blanket Fund has grown to more than $1.5 million, which will be disbursed to successful applications over multiple years.
HBC Properties & Investments:
Expanded Parental Leave: HBC Properties & Investments (HBCPI) recognizes that its team members wear multiple hats and juggle myriad responsibilities – both inside and outside of the office. To help its team members put their best foot forward, HBCPI, in conjunction with the HBC Shared Services Teams, launched an expanded Parental Leave program to support new parents as they take on life’s most important challenges while balancing their professional endeavors.
