We’re pleased to report on Drapers content monitoring for the month of March 2020, which was “Challenge Month” for the BBC’s 50:50 Equality Project in which emap is participating alongside global organisations such as the FT, British Fashion Council, Unilever and others. The BBC will launch its Impact Report 2021 next week and there will be an agenda of diversity content around it in which you are invited to participate.
Drapers is acknowledging the contribution and raising the profile of women in the fashion retail industry by participating in 50:50, which aims to give equal representation to men and women in the media and in business. We know that business leadership is drawn from a narrow network, which means that the industry is missing out on a large and diverse pool of talent. This is especially relevant in fashion retail, where the womenswear market is double the size of the menswear market (2019, Mintel).
Drapers acting editor Jill Geoghegan said: “As the voice of the fashion retail industry, we take our responsibilities in representation and commitment to the 50:50 project seriously. Participation in 50:50 gives us a benchmark from which the industry can work to make women leaders more visible, which in turn will have the effect of attracting and including talent from a more diverse range of demographics.”
The monitoring involves simply counting how many male and female industry leaders we feature/quote in our content, on the principle that “you need to see it to be it”. This has resulted in female coverage both online and in the magazine of 54% and 52% respectively. Please do join us in celebrating the progress we are making in the equality of representation, and thank you to Drapers editorial team for all your efforts!
