Adidas, under fire from Portland employees over the treatment of African-American workers, pledged Tuesday that at least 30% of new employees hired in the U.S. will be black or Latinx.
The company said it will spend $20 million over the next four years for programs that support the African-American community, the latest effort by a prominent brand to respond to the global civil rights movement ignited by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last month.
“The events of the past two weeks have caused all of us to reflect on what we can do to confront the cultural and systemic forces that sustain racism,” Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said in a statement posted on the German company’s website. “We have had to look inward to ourselves as individuals and our organization and reflect on systems that disadvantage and silence Black individuals and communities.”
Tuesday’s pledge missed the mark for Portland clothing designer Julia Bond, who has helped lead protests at Adidas’ North American headquarters in Portland every day since last Friday. She said the company’s message appears tailored for an external audience, not for creating real change within the business.
“It’s frustrating to see images of black women around the brand, wearing the clothing and wearing the shoes but there’s nobody that looks like me that is there” designing the products, said Bond, 25. She said she is the only black, female apparel designer working at Adidas’ corporate office in Portland.
“I see the potential this brand has to do the right thing and be a leader,” Bond said. “I see the potential to do very good work but it starts with Adidas apologizing.”
The New York Times reported last year that fewer than 4.5% of Adidas’ corporate employees in Portland are African American, even though Adidas’ marketing efforts prominently feature black athletes and performers.
Footwear News reported last week that 150 employees, split between the company’s Portland office and German headquarters, had demanded the company commit to its black employees, the black community and fight for racial justice.
The employees had called on the company to have 31% of workers at all levels of the organization be black or Latinx by the end of next year, according to Footwear News. Employees have held daily, noontime demonstrations at Adidas’ Portland office since Friday.
Adidas’ statement Tuesday follows a similar initiative rival Nike announced last week
“While we strive to help shape a better society, our most important priority is to get our own house in order,” Nike CEO John Donahoe wrote in a note to employees Friday. He pledged $40 million over four years to support “social justice, education” and racial inequality.
Adidas acknowledged Tuesday that it, too, has much work to do. But Rorsted, the CEO, did not apologize as Bond and her colleagues had demanded.
“We recognize the immense contribution of the Black community to our success and that of others. We promise to improve our company culture to ensure equity, diversity and opportunity,” Rorsted wrote. “We understand that the fight against racism is one that must be fought continually and actively. We must and will do better.”
Originally from Ohio, Bond has worked at Adidas for a little more than a year after a pair of five-month internships.
“I joined Adidas because I really believed in the team I was going to be working with and the work we were going to be doing for the brand. A lot of people where I’m from don’t get jobs like this,” Bond said. She said family back home worries about her outspoken activism.
“They’re like: “What are you doing? Just sit down, be quiet, be grateful that you have a job,’ ” Bond said. But she said she sees an opportunity to create real change at Adidas.
“My hope,” Bond said, “is with these protests it will hold a public mirror to the brand.”
— Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699
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