H&M launches its first STEM programme in the UK
This programme marks a key step in its aim to become more inclusive and diverse.
H&M has announced its first STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) programme will launch in February 2022, in the UK, in partnership with not-for-profit charity Stemettes.
The brand said focus of the programme will be ‘sustainability and style’, with participants exploring STEM’s contribution to a more sustainable fashion future through a panel and networking event – a hackathon and one-to-one mentoring by H&M’s STEM role models who come from a “range of fields” including artificial intelligence, customer centric technology, assortment and product development.
For H&M, this programme marks a key step in its aim to become more inclusive and
diverse. The representation of women and non-binary people in the increasingly digitalised
STEM fields is an important equality issue that needs readdressing, since these groups
have been “historically” under-represented.
According to the retailer, by taking a relevant and holistic approach it hopes to “positively” impact the communities by investing in young women and non-binary people, building new connections and expanding our focus on the issues that most affect diversity and inclusion within STEM, including representation.
H&M’s partnership will be followed by a series of STEM programmes rolled out around the world by H&M Group. It said these global initiatives will help the brand “empower and inspire” future STEM talents to create “meaningful” impact, level the STEM playing field and create a more inclusive and diverse fashion environment for everyone.
Kirsty Finn-Murphy, H&M UK and IE country HR manager, said: “Our ambition within H&M is
to promote equity, diversity and inclusion for all our colleagues and customers.
“This is the reason we’re excited to collaborate with Stemettes – an award-winning social enterprise working to inspire and support young women and non-binary people in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths careers. We believe our H&M role models
collaborating with these young talents will inspire them to choose a career within STEM.”
Pascal Brun, head of sustainability at H&M, added: “This is about the future and how we
bring tech, science and data into the core of what we do. I think through this programme, we
could position ourselves and attract future talent which will be a core competence in
future.”
