Celebrating Pride 2020
We've long believed that we're all made better by the diversity that exists within our communities. Our values are centered on the notion of creating a place where every customer and employee is welcome, respected, appreciated and able to be themselves. We recognize we can do more and are continuing our journey to improve on diversity, inclusion and belonging, and we are also proud of our efforts to support the LGBTQIA community.
That’s why we are as excited as ever to celebrate this year’s Pride Month, especially in light of yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling. We’ve always believed that no one should ever be denied a job or fired because of who they are or whom they love – we’re relieved that the Supreme Court feels the same and has solidified that into law.
We're honored to maintain our long-standing support of the LGBTQIA community through charitable grants and activities for our employees, but we're also proud to have launched a new BP collection, Be Proud on June 1. This is our first gender-inclusive collection, featuring a range of silhouettes for people of all gender identities. We partnered with members from the LGBTQIA community to provide insight on what they see as missing from the current apparel landscape and worked with them to ensure fit and styling was reflective of what they’d like to see in a gender-inclusive collection. This is our first iteration and we’re looking forward to hearing feedback from our customers on what they like and what can be improved for our next collection launch this fall.
To further honor the LGBTQIA community, we’re donating 10% of net sales of the collection to True Colors United, a nonprofit organization that implements innovative solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQIA young people.
Check out the video below for a look at this new collection in action (literally).
Beyond our donations from the collection, we're leveraging our community grants program to provide funding to several organizations to support their efforts, including:
- GenPRIDE in Seattle: Empowers older LGBTQIA+ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community.
- Trans Wellness Center in LA: Provides comprehensive resources and services for transgender and non-binary people under one roof, including housing and employment resources, youth programs, medical and mental health services. The Center is the first-of-its-kind in the United States, with six local organizations joining forces to create this new home for wellness.
- Coalition for Aging LGBT in Dallas: Dedicated to improving and protecting the quality of life of older LGBT adults in North Texas through coordination and collaborations for health, housing, advocacy, financial security and social services.
- Center on Halsted in Chicago: Community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ people of Chicagoland.
- Rainbow Refugee in Vancouver, B.C.: Supports people seeking refugee protection in Canada because of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or HIV status.
We celebrate diversity throughout the year, which often comes in the form of additional partnerships with nonprofits that go above and beyond our annual giving, but most importantly, it comes from making Nordstrom a great place to work for everyone. We’re humbled to be recognized by organizations like HRC for our ongoing efforts to foster a welcoming environment for our customers, employees and vendors, but our work is never finished. We will never stop our efforts to improve and invite you to view our progress and updates through the CSR section of Nordstrom Now.