Zara’s parent company Inditex to increase number of disabled employees

Zara’s parent company, Inditex, has plans to increase its number of employees with disabilities worldwide within the next two years. With diversity and inclusivity standing out further in the news, the fashion brand has announced that it is committed to boosting the inclusion of people with differing abilities across its stores, logistics platforms, warehouses and offices worldwide. This will imply hiring over 1,500 professionals, doubling the number of employees with some form of disability.

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Inditex’s CEO, Oscar García Maceiras, signed the group’s endorsement of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) global business and disability network at a meeting with the director-general of the ILO, Gilbert F. Houngbo, at the institution’s headquarters this week. The ILO global business and disability network is a worldwide network created to promote disability inclusion in the workplace. 

Inditex also aims to outperform the disabled employee thresholds required in the several jurisdictions in which it operates. Moreover, in markets where there are no specific requirements, the group’s target is to have at least 2% of its local headcounts be of differing abilities. 

Disability inclusion in the workplace is a core component of Inditex’s commitment to people, said García Maceiras. “Diversity, fairness and inclusion are values we all embrace, values we pursue day-to-day, in order to have an impact within Inditex as well as all around us: our pledge is to design opportunities for everyone.”

The ILO’s director-general also shared that companies increasingly recognise that their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts must address the inclusion of persons with disabilities to lead to positive and sustainable business changes.

“The ILO Global Business and Disability Network provides a unique space for enterprises to learn from and support each other on their respective disability inclusion journey,” Houngbo added.

Inditex is also working with the ILO on its efforts to create inclusive workplaces where people with disabilities have equal opportunities to jobs and career development by helping companies recognise the disabled community’s economic and social value, driving disability inclusion in the workplace, fostering workplace accessibility and encouraging inclusion in every aspect of working life.

This collaboration marks another step forward in Inditex's disability inclusion strategy, which is articulated around four priority areas: championing inclusive recruiting and career development; fostering accessible workplaces conducive to ensuring equal opportunities; facilitating an inclusive shopping experience; and raising team awareness about disability.

To make progress on this strategy, the group strives to build and maintain stable and long-lasting relations with local entities in its various business markets, notable ones among which is Plena Inclusión, a confederation that represents 950 associations in Spain.

That organisation is working with Inditex to provide opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental impairments to find meaningful work and living standards by following the employment-with-support methodology as the best way of integrating people with disabilities into the workplace.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Inditex for more information. 

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