The head of global human resources at sportswear and apparel company Adidas resigned Tuesday after criticism from employees of what they see as the company’s failure to diversify its workforce.
Karen Parkin’s resignation comes after a group of black employees turned to Adidas’ supervisory board to investigate her and her strategy to address racial issues in the workplace. Employees are also pressuring the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based company to create an anonymous public channel to raise any issues about racism.
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Black employee lawsuits were reported by The Wall Street Journal in mid-June.
“I am deeply committed to our goals of creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable company,” Parkin, a board member, said in a statement. “While we have made progress in many areas, there is much more work to do. However, it has become clear to me that to unify the organization it would be better for me to retire and pave the way for change. ”
Igor Landau, chairman of the supervisory board of Adidas AG, said in a statement that Parkin’s decision to leave the company reflects his belief that a new HR leader “will better drive the pace of change that Adidas needs at the moment. “
In the wake of protests over police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd, for which four former Minneapolis police officers have been charged, Adidas, like many other brands, turned to social media in support of racial equality. But employees of Adidas and other companies like Amazon accused them of hypocrisy, saying that their own workforces lacked diversity.
Following criticism, Adidas said it would invest $ 120 million in US initiatives focused on ending racial injustice and supporting black communities until 2025. Among other initiatives, it promised that a minimum of 30% of all new positions, internal and External, they will be full of black and Latino talent.
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Adidas employs some 59,000 people worldwide.
Adidas said its CEO, Kasper Rorsted, will take responsibility for global human resources on an interim basis until a successor is appointed.
Parkin first joined Adidas in 1997 as director of sales for Adidas UK. Since then, he has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the company in customer service, business development, supply chain and human resources, culminating in leadership of the global human resources division for the past 5 1/2 years. She was named a member of the company’s executive board in 2017.
