LVMH Maisons in the U.S. sign United Nations Standards of Conduct, joining the fight against LGBTI + discrimination
LVMH
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© Joe Penney
Last March 13th, members of the LVMH Executive Committee and CEOs of LVMH Maisons in Europe came together in Paris to sign the UN standards of conduct for business, which fight against discrimination toward LGBTI people. During a ceremony in New York honoring World Pride Month, LVMH further strengthened its commitment to diversity, equality and respect by signing these same UN Standards of Conduct. The ceremony was attended by two members of the LVMH Executive Committee – Chantal Gaemperle, LVMH Group EVP, Human Resources and Synergies, and Chris de Lapuente, Chairman & CEO of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics and Sephora – joined by CEOs of LVMH Maisons in the United States and Fabrice Houdart, Human Rights Officer, United Nations.
The signing of the UN Standards of Conduct for business, which fight discrimination against LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex) people took place during the “Pride at LVMH” internal event organized ahead of World Pride NY, which marks the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
With the signature of these standards LVMH and its Maisons reaffirm their commitment to:
- Respect Human Rights of LGBTI workers, customers and community members,
- Eliminate Discrimination against LGBTI employees in the workspace,
- Support LGBTI employees at work,
- Not Discriminate against LGBTI customers, suppliers and distributors and insist that business partners do the same,
- Stand up for Human Rights of LGBTI people in the communities where they do business.
During the “Pride at LVMH” event, hosted by Chantal Gaemperle, LVMH Group EVP, Human Resources and Synergies, and Anish Melwani, Chairman and CEO, LVMH Inc. (North America), participants heard from Chris de Lapuente, Chairman & CEO of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics and Sephora, as well as Marc Jacobs.
“Thanks to the passion of their diverse talents, LVMH’s Maisons design products and provide experiences that make people dream. With this comes a responsibility to help shape inclusive work environments where everyone can contribute, beyond gender, race, sexual orientation and nationality. At LVMH, we celebrate the world as it is and encourage our teams to create a sense of belonging,” said Chantal Gaemperle, LVMH Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Synergies.
“Pride at LVMH” was also an opportunity to listen to testimonials from LGBTI employees of several LVMH Maisons, who shared their personal stories about how the LVMH Group has been pivotal in supporting them both professionally and personally. Their remarks highlighted a broad range of ongoing initiatives by LVMH’s Maisons such as Rock your Rainbow by Sephora, Make Up For Ever’s partnership with the Hetrick Martin Institute and Benefit’s integration of Planned Parenthood as a partner in its Bold is Beautiful program.
Before the end of the year LVMH will launch a worldwide training program for all executives and managers on Unconscious Bias and Inclusive Leadership towards LGBTI employees, while continuing the development of practical tools to raise awareness about non-discrimination in the recruitment process.