Key Takeaways
- In 2023, women comprised 72% of the total workforce in the U.S. apparel manufacturing sector, but only 28% of production supervisors.
- Black employees made up 11.4% of apparel retail staff in major U.S. brands in 2022, down from 13.2% pre-pandemic.
- Hispanic workers represented 42% of entry-level sewing machine operators in apparel factories across California in 2021.
- In 2023, only 15% of C-suite executives in global apparel brands were women.
- People of color held 22% of board seats in FTSE 100 apparel-linked companies in 2022.
- In 2021, 8% of CEOs in the top 100 apparel companies were from underrepresented ethnic groups.
- The gender pay gap in U.S. apparel industry stood at 18.2% for full-time workers in 2022.
- Black women in apparel design earned 72 cents for every dollar white men earned in 2023.
- Promotion rates for women in retail apparel were 15% lower than for men in 2021.
- In 2023, 35% of apparel suppliers to major brands were minority-owned businesses.
- Women-owned suppliers provided 22% of fabrics to U.S. apparel firms in 2022.
- Black-owned vendors supplied 7.8% of accessories to European fashion brands in 2021.
- 85% of apparel companies offered unconscious bias training to employees in 2022.
- Employee resource groups (ERGs) for women existed in 78% of major apparel firms in 2023.
- 67% of brands implemented mentorship programs for underrepresented groups in 2021.
The apparel industry remains inequitable despite growing workforce diversity and targeted corporate programs.
Employee Demographics
Employee Demographics Interpretation
Leadership and Executive Diversity
Leadership and Executive Diversity Interpretation
Pay Equity
Pay Equity Interpretation
Supplier and Vendor Diversity
Supplier and Vendor Diversity Interpretation
Training and Inclusion Programs
Training and Inclusion Programs Interpretation
How We Rate Confidence
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
Lukas Bauer. (2026, February 13). Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Apparel Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-apparel-industry-statistics
Lukas Bauer. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Apparel Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-apparel-industry-statistics.
Lukas Bauer. 2026. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Apparel Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-apparel-industry-statistics.
Sources & References
- Reference 1BLSbls.gov
bls.gov
- Reference 2NRFnrf.com
nrf.com
- Reference 3CALIFORNIAAPPARELcaliforniaapparel.org
californiaapparel.org
- Reference 4MCKINSEYmckinsey.com
mckinsey.com
- Reference 5EUROFOUNDeurofound.europa.eu
eurofound.europa.eu
- Reference 6STONEWALLstonewall.org.uk
stonewall.org.uk
- Reference 7AARPaarp.org
aarp.org
- Reference 8AUSTRALIANFASHIONCOUNCILaustralianfashioncouncil.com
australianfashioncouncil.com
- Reference 9ILOilo.org
ilo.org
- Reference 10HIRINGOURHEROEShiringourheroes.org
hiringourheroes.org
- Reference 11BOFbof.com
bof.com
- Reference 12PARKERREVIEWparkerreview.uk
parkerreview.uk
- Reference 13DELOITTEdeloitte.com
deloitte.com
- Reference 14LEANINleanin.org
leanin.org
- Reference 15OUTLEADERSHIPoutleadership.com
outleadership.com
- Reference 16SCOPEscope.org.uk
scope.org.uk
- Reference 17FORBESforbes.com
forbes.com
- Reference 18CFDAcfda.com
cfda.com
- Reference 19GSCIGROUPgscigroup.com
gscigroup.com
- Reference 20ACCOUNTINGTODAYaccountingtoday.com
accountingtoday.com
- Reference 21PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.org
pewresearch.org
- Reference 22GLASSDOORglassdoor.com
glassdoor.com
- Reference 23ONSons.gov.uk
ons.gov.uk
- Reference 24EUROSTATeurostat.ec.europa.eu
eurostat.ec.europa.eu
- Reference 25WILLIAMSINSTITUTEwilliamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu
williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu
- Reference 26SHRMshrm.org
shrm.org
- Reference 27EPIepi.org
epi.org
- Reference 28EQUILARequilar.com
equilar.com
- Reference 29STATCANstatcan.gc.ca
statcan.gc.ca
- Reference 30NMSDCnmsdc.org
nmsdc.org
- Reference 31WBECOUNCILwbecouncil.org
wbecouncil.org
- Reference 32BAMEBUSINESSbamebusiness.com
bamebusiness.com
- Reference 33STARTOUTstartout.org
startout.org
- Reference 34NEAnea.gov
nea.gov
- Reference 35VAva.gov
va.gov
- Reference 36SUPPLYNATIONsupplynation.org.au
supplynation.org.au
- Reference 37USCHAMBERuschamber.com
uschamber.com
- Reference 38FASHIONREVOLUTIONfashionrevolution.org
fashionrevolution.org
- Reference 39GREATPLACETOWORKgreatplacetowork.eu
greatplacetowork.eu
- Reference 40SEDEXsedex.com
sedex.com
- Reference 41HRChrc.org
hrc.org
- Reference 42CONFERENCEBOARDconferenceboard.org
conferenceboard.org
- Reference 43ADAada.gov
ada.gov
- Reference 44GALLUPgallup.com
gallup.com
- Reference 45BAINbain.com
bain.com
- Reference 46AUTISTICAautistica.org.uk
autistica.org.uk
- Reference 47OXFAMINDIAoxfamindia.org
oxfamindia.org
- Reference 48MIGRATIONPOLICYmigrationpolicy.org
migrationpolicy.org
- Reference 49BLACKFASHIONCOUNCILblackfashioncouncil.org
blackfashioncouncil.org
- Reference 50SPGLOBALspglobal.com
spglobal.com
- Reference 51ADAGEadage.com
adage.com
- Reference 52FAMILYBUSINESSMAGAZINEfamilybusinessmagazine.com
familybusinessmagazine.com
- Reference 53ASIANBUSINESSLEAGUEasianbusinessleague.org
asianbusinessleague.org
- Reference 54NATIONALHISPANICCCnationalhispaniccc.org
nationalhispaniccc.org
- Reference 55MILITARYmilitary.com
military.com
- Reference 56PWCpwc.com
pwc.com
- Reference 57MERCERmercer.com
mercer.com
- Reference 58TRANS EQUALITYtrans equality.org
trans equality.org
- Reference 59IBGCibgc.org.br
ibgc.org.br
- Reference 60ISSGOVERNANCEissgovernance.com
issgovernance.com
- Reference 61ABOUTabout.nike.com
about.nike.com
- Reference 62WEFORUMweforum.org
weforum.org
- Reference 63HMGROUPhmgroup.com
hmgroup.com
- Reference 64BLACKFARMERSblackfarmers.org
blackfarmers.org
- Reference 65LEVISTRAUSSlevistrauss.com
levistrauss.com
- Reference 66ABOUTabout.adidas.com
about.adidas.com
- Reference 67CORPORATEcorporate.vfc.com
corporate.vfc.com
- Reference 68GAPINCgapinc.com
gapinc.com
- Reference 69EYey.com
ey.com
- Reference 70INDITEXinditex.com
inditex.com
- Reference 71BSRbsr.org
bsr.org
- Reference 72ABOUTabout.puma.com
about.puma.com






