H&M teams up with Stemettes on first UK STEM programme
H&M is launching its first ever UK STEM programme which aims to inspire women and non-binary people to work in roles in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Due to be introduced in the UK this month, the initiative will focus on “sustainability and style”.
Participants will explore 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 in the fields of artificial intelligence, customer centric technology, assortment and product development.
H&M said the programme will mark a key step in its quest to become more inclusive and diverse and will help grow representation of women and non-binary people in the increasingly digitalised STEM fields.
The retailer will be working with not-for-profit charity Stemettes on the UK programme which will be followed by a series of STEM programmes being rolled out around the world.
Kirsty Finn-Murphy, H&M UK & 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 program, we could position ourselves and attract future talent which will be a core competence in future.”
