SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) announced that Chief Executive Officer Art Peck will today accept the prestigious 2016 Catalyst Award on the company’s behalf at the 2016 Catalyst Awards event held in New York City. In selecting Gap Inc. for this year’s Award, Catalyst, a leading nonprofit organization accelerating progress for women, recognizes Gap Inc.’s culture of equality and dedicated efforts related to the advancement of women, including employees, customers, and within the broader community.
Today, women make up more than 70 percent of Gap Inc.’s worldwide employee base, including a similar percent of its store managers and the CEO’s senior leadership team. Additionally, women currently lead four out of five Gap Inc. brands. In 2014, Gap Inc. became the first Fortune 500 company to announce that it pays female and male employees equally for equal work around the world.
The Catalyst Award also recognizes Gap Inc.’s signature education and life skills program for women, called P.A.C.E., which stands for Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement. P.A.C.E. is currently active in 12 countries. More than 35,000 women have participated in the program since 2007, and Gap Inc. has made a commitment to scale and expand the program to reach one million women by the end of 2020.
“Gap Inc. is committed to a culture of equality, where everyone has the opportunity to stand as equals and thrive,” said Art Peck, chief executive officer of Gap Inc. “This tradition was established by our co-founders Doris and Don Fisher, who opened the first Gap store in 1969 as equal partners. We are honored and grateful to receive the 2016 Catalyst Award, and we remain committed to the values of equality and inclusion, which unlock new possibilities for our company and the people touched by our business around the world.”
The annual award from Catalyst recognizes organizations whose innovative approaches result in proven, measurable results that advance the recruitment, development, and advancement of women in the workplace. For the first time since the inception of the Catalyst award, Gap Inc. is the sole company to be honored by the organization in a given year and has become the first company from the fashion industry to be recognized by Catalyst. During the event, the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, will also receive a special commendation from Catalyst for his leadership in advancing diversity and gender equality.
Catalyst Award-winning initiatives are evaluated in a rigorous, yearlong process against criteria such as strategy and rationale, senior leadership activities, accountability and transparency, communication, employee engagement, innovation, and measureable results. Since 1987, Catalyst has recognized 85 initiatives at 79 organizations from around the world.
“We celebrate the groundbreaking efforts of Prime Minister Trudeau and Art Peck and his leadership team at Gap Inc.,” says Deborah Gillis, President & CEO, Catalyst. “They have worked tirelessly to take intentional and deliberate steps that help to ensure that women have equal opportunities to advance to leadership. They come from different sectors, but share a commitment to gender parity, demonstrated by senior teams where women and men are equally represented. We need global leaders and companies like them more than ever. They’ve set an example for the world, prioritizing inclusion and celebrating differences—and inspiring others to fight for gender equality and equal pay.”
ABOUT GAP INC.
Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix brands. Fiscal year 2015 net sales were $15.8 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through about 3,300 company-operated stores, over 400 franchise stores, and e- commerce sites. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.
ABOUT CATALYST
Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit organization accelerating progress for women through workplace inclusion. With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, Australia, and Japan, and more than 800 supporting organizations, Catalyst is the trusted resource for research, information, and advice about women at work.
