Urban Outfitters Board Denounced for Refusal to Include Women or Minorities

You’d think a corporation that owns multiple brands catering solely to women would have a female-heavy board of directors. But for clothing giant Urban Outfitters Inc.–which owns Free People, Anthropologie, and BHLDN–the opposite is true. Seven people serve on the company’s board of directors. Guess how many are women: None.

Guess how many are people of color: None.

In May, Calvert Investments, which promotes socially responsible investing, urged Urban Outfitters to consider including women and minorities on its board in the future. The result? Urban Outfitters rebuffed them, denying that they had a diversity problem, according to Calvert senior analyst Aditi Mohapatra.

{snip} In 2011, that’s unacceptable, which is why Mohapatra launched a petition on Change.org demanding that Urban Outfitters diversify its all-male, all-white board.

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A board with no women and minorities is an insult to Urban Outfitters’ diverse clientele. Join organizations such as Calvert and 2020 Women on Boards in letting Urban Outfitters know that an all-white, all-board is unacceptable. {snip}