Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 29

"I had no idea that a job like this could even
exist when I was younger," Harris said. "I had
heard of Outward Bound. But I thought it was
exclusive and just for kids from the suburbs.
Now I look forward to being in the schools,
getting to know the kids and talking to them
about the different opportunities."

THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY HAS LONG
grappled with how to handle diversity, equity,
and inclusion (DEI)-if it has at all. But that
is changing. Under-represented segments of
the population are beginning to emerge to take
on professional roles at companies and nonprofit organizations. The question is: How can
these institutions proactively improve their
representation of people of color, women, the
differently abled, and folks from the LGBTQ
community without running the risk of encouraging tokenism?
Harris is no token hire-she's more than
qualified for her new position. With the help
of Outdoor Afro, she was able to build up the
confidence she needed to become gainfully
employed as an outdoor professional. In a
school district that is predominantly Black, she
creates lesson plans for students to learn environmental science and social skills through
physical activities like ropes courses and nature hikes. She is a role model for young people
who will grow up seeing adults in their community actively involved in outdoor recreation
and environmental stewardship.
Organizations across the outdoor industry
are beginning to understand that DEI requires
more than just hiring a few Black and brown
people. A series of short films, a couple of magazine ads, a social media campaign, or an ethnically diverse panel discussion just won't cut
it. In addition to these things, organizations
must also create professional environments
where people of different backgrounds are not
just made to feel welcome, but given opportunities to succeed.
The North Face, for example is working with
the Greening Youth Foundation to establish
relationships with young people at historically
Black colleges and universities, Hispanic institutions, and tribal colleges. This Atlanta-based
nonprofit led by co-founder Angelou Ezeilo
is helping the company build up the cultural

"THIS ISN'T GOING TO OVERNIGHT CHANGE THE
DIVERSITY OF WHO GOES OUTSIDE, BUT IT CAN
BRING ATTENTION TO THE ISSUE, BRING OTHER
DOLLARS TO THE ISSUE." - LISEAANGEENBRUG,THE OUTDOOR FOUNDATION
competency it needs to create a workforce that
reflects the diversity of the U.S. population as a
whole. Counseling her clients on the importance of authentic connections with traditionally underrepresented communities, Ezeilo
suggests that outdoor industry institutions
must become comfortable with what they
don't know and rely upon experts in the field to
lead the way forward.
"I think organizations must come to grips
with what they want to accomplish and be okay
with feeling vulnerable," she said. "Trust in the
partner, whomever it is you engage, trust their
expertise. Allow them to show you how the
work that they've been doing over many years
could work for you."
Direct engagement opportunities within
underrepresented communities can serve to
raise awareness for the values of outdoor recreation. By working with partners on the ground
who have solid relationships with the groups
they aim to reach, industry companies can
boost their overall representation of women
and marginalized communities without having to resort to tokenism. Reggie Miller, vice
president, global inclusion & diversity at VF
Corporation, said this approach is key to his
company's long-term strategy for success.
"We have publicly announced our commitment to achieve gender parity at the director
level and above by 2030, and 25% representation for people of color in the U.S. by that same
year," Miller said. "By reaching these goals, we
will inevitably develop a workforce that looks
more diverse. But again, we aren't doing this
for the optics; we're doing it because our workforce should reflect the diversity of the global
consumer populations we serve."

WITH MUCH WORK STILL AHEAD, THE
responsibility for transforming the outdoor industry to be more inclusive cannot
fall exclusively upon a single institution. Lise
Aangeenbrug is the executive director of the

philanthropic wing of the Outdoor Industry
Association, the Outdoor Foundation, which
is charged with the mission of engaging young
people and their families to become stewards
of the natural environment. Aangeenbrug understands her organization can't do the work of
DEI alone.
"The industry probably needs to see this
as a continuum of work that is all related,"
Aangeenbrug said. "I work on the side of getting kids and families outdoors and creating
diversity, but that doesn't work unless there's
also internships, recruiting, and marketing. It
all fits together. The foundation cannot solve
this problem. What the foundation can do is
work on a piece of it. But the industry really
needs to embrace a much larger view."
The Outdoor Foundation launched a pilot
program to create engagement opportunities
in four cities across the country. Called Thrive
Outside, it aims to support local networks of
youth-development agencies, schools, and
outdoor adventure groups to come together
and work with a trusted local partner, such as
the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Club, and groups
like Outdoor Afro and Latino Outdoors. The
goal is to provide repeatable experiences to
reinforce an interest in the outdoors that is
authentic and culturally relevant to that community. The Outdoor Foundation has received
about $2 million in donations from OIA member companies to make this happen.
"Our plan is to scale up over time to make the
investment in 16 places. It's important to note
that we are not doing the work. We're fueling
it with funding from the outdoor industry,"
Aangeenbrug said. "This isn't going to overnight change the diversity of who goes outside,
but it can bring attention to the issue, bring
other dollars to the issue. It can really get communities to see the benefits of kids and families
getting outside."
And, in the end, that's the goal that everyone is working toward. O.R.

Winter 2020 / OUTDOOR RETAILER 29

Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020

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