The Green-Ceiling: Fashion Needs More Women to Solve Sustainability

Looking at a handful of what’s considered leading brands in sustainable fashion, the leadership and goal attainment is arguably gendered, with sustainable initiatives started or driven by women. Where gaps exist in fashion’s sustainability problem, should more women be in place to balance it out? Tackling sustainability at scale is a job fit for a woman, many women, as industry examples and studies imply. These “unique experiences and insights of women in business play an important role in advancing corporate sustainability,” according to Melissa Powell, chief of staff at the UN Global Compact, the largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Powell described the composition of the leadership in her company, “Our ceo and executive director is a woman, we have more women than men on our executive team and 50 percent of our board members are women.” She credited this outcome as the result of intentional policies and practices and “an understanding that gender diversity is key to our success.” Citing a February paper published by the International Finance Corp., which linked women’s leadership to Environmental, Social Governance performance, Powell said the findings concluded that reduced green greenhouse gas emissions, improved worker relations and a reduction in unethical practices are all

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