A statement from Michelle A. Banks, Kohl’s Chief Inclusion & Belonging Officer
For more than 60 years, caring about our customers, associates, and communities has been an important part of how we run our business. Our intention will always be to make decisions that are in accordance with our values. A key component of our values is to cultivate a workplace and shopping experience where respect, empathy and inclusion thrive. We have evolved our framework to focus on inclusion and belonging, and we remain committed to our three strategic pillars – Our People, Our Customers and Our Community. These efforts will help us continue to drive an inclusive and productive workforce and serve a broad base of customers.
Our People: We believe that a workforce comprised of people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences leads to greater innovation and collaboration and helps us achieve our business objectives by serving a broad base of customers.
We remain purposeful in attracting, growing, and engaging a workforce that values and respects our broad customer base.
Our eight Business Resource Groups (BRGs) encompass more than 10,000 unique members and will continue to provide invaluable insights and be a key component in recognizing and fostering an inclusive culture. Our BRGs are inherently inclusive because they are open to all associates by welcoming all allies, not just the community they represent.
We will continue to offer relevant training and development programs for all of our associates.
Our Customers: To help grow our business, we believe we must be intentional about celebrating individuality and welcoming and serving customers of all backgrounds and perspectives.
We will continue to offer relevant and inclusive products, categories, sizing and designs to ensure that all our customers see themselves reflected in our brands.
We will continue to enhance Kohl’s brand experience to reach a broad base of customers by telling culturally relevant stories and creating inclusive content that features diverse representation (i.e. various family structures, ethnicities, and a wide range of ages, sizes and abilities).
We remain committed to creating a shopping environment that is inspiring and welcoming to all our customers and treating them with dignity and respect.
Our Community: We will continue to support family health and wellness through conversations, programs, and partnerships that improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.
We are broadening our supplier diversity program to be open to all qualified small businesses, including diverse small businesses.
We will continue to make a positive impact in the diverse communities we serve through the work we do with our three national partners (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Alliance for a Healthier Generation) and several hometown partners in Wisconsin, such as Hunger Task Force and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Our priority as a company will always be to reflect our values of being a welcoming and inclusive company for all of our associates and all of the customers we serve, which in turn, drives the business forward.
