Diversity is at the core of Macy's, Inc.'s approach to doing business. It touches all areas of our company. We expect our associates, our advertising and in-store presentations, and the companies with which we do business to mirror the broad and diverse customer base we serve.
Our Associates
Macy's believes that different perspectives are important to our company, and we benefit greatly from the individual strengths of each associate. To serve our diverse customers, we have to be a diverse company. Women represent more than 76 percent of the workforce across Macy's, Inc., and more than 65 percent of management-level executives are women. Racial minorities represent more than 46 percent of our associate team and represent more than 27 percent of our management team.
Our Marketing and Advertising
A crucial part of our diversity strategy is our multicultural marketing. We use powerful and evocative images, symbols and words to communicate our brand messages, our special events and our merchandise selections to our diverse core customers. And we deliver those messages via targeted media channels to reach customers where and when they want to receive our messages. We also work with minority-owned and women-owned agencies to ensure our concept development and ad placements are in sync with our multicultural customer.
Our Suppliers
Having a supplier base that reflects our diverse customer base gives us a tremendous competitive advantage, particularly because it enables us to source distinctive merchandise to present in our stores. It also helps us give meaningful support to businesses that contribute to the economic health of our local communities. Our Supplier Diversity Program helps us identify and support emerging minority-owned or women-owned businesses. New in 2011 is The Workshop at Macy's, our company's first business development program, which will foster growth in the next generation of minority-owned and women-owned retail talent.