While American companies are abandoning their DEI policies, Swedish H&M appears to be moving in the opposite direction. ”It is a strength for our business as it provides a variety of knowledge, experiences and perspectives,” writes the retail chain, which simultaneously claims that there are more than two genders.
American retail giants like Target and Walmart are now abandoning their DEI programs after massive criticism. H&M seemingly is choosing a different path.
On the H&M Group’s website, the company markets itself around ”diversity” and ”inclusion.”
”As a global company with employees from 177 different nationalities, we represent many different cultures and backgrounds. It is a strength for our business as it provides a variety of knowledge, experiences and perspectives that enable creativity and innovation,” the company writes.
”We strive to have teams characterized by diversity and inclusion so that we can better understand our customers’ needs and perspectives,” H&M continues.
Denies biological sex
The H&M Group also openly rejects that there are only two genders, male and female. In the company’s latest sustainability report for 2023, they write: ”Within the H&M Group, we are aware that gender is not binary and that gender identities exist between and outside of male and female.”
In the US, President Donald Trump recently announced that federal agencies will henceforth only recognize two sexes.
Promised identity politics training
During the BLM riots in 2020, H&M donated $500,000 to activist organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Color of Change, and the ACLU.
At the same time, the company announced it would begin offer ”resources” to ”further educate” its employees in so-called ”implicit bias” – a concept dealing with alleged unconscious prejudices.
”Black lives matter,” wrote then-CEO Helena Helmersson in a statement that still remains on the company’s website.
Bulletin is seeking comment from H&M’s current CEO Daniel Ervér.
