May 2021

We have taken time to understand anti-racism at Heist; where we have failed in the past, what we can do better today and how we can make a meaningful difference in the future.

We believe discrimination against a person based on the colour of their skin is unambiguously wrong. We also acknowledge that Heist operates in a society where Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities face systemic racism. Unless we help to dismantle the system, racial injustice will continue.

We are committed to playing our part in the change that needs to happen - in our business, and in the wider world where we have influence and power. As part of this commitment, we developed a plan in October 2020 that outlined the ways in which we were to actively address and work on anti-racism. This plan is a document that we will continue to update annually with company progress.

Thank you to everyone in the team who fed into this plan, who shared brilliant ideas, and took the time and energy to engage with it.

Here are our commitments to anti-racism:

PEOPLE

Call out any individual act of racism no matter how small or how unintentional.
We aim to make our workplace a safe space where everyone is equal and any subject can be raised and discussed. This includes instances of racism. Since the establishment of the Anti-Racism Action Plan we have discussed racism as part of three externally facilitated team learning sessions, with the aim of giving the team the tools and confidence to talk about these topics openly.

Assess and report progress on our Anti-Racism Plan to our community, our shareholders and our Board of Directors.
Accountability and transparency is of utmost importance to us. That is why we have published our commitments across all Heist channels and why we continue to keep the action plan firmly on the agenda at board meetings.

EDUCATION

Continue to invest in anti-racism resources and build a media library of materials for the team to educate themselves.  
The media library continues to be actively used and updated by the team. Over the past year members of the team have also made use of the Heist Learning and Development Budget to purchase resources and attend events to further educate themselves. This budget will continue to be available.

Provide the team with inherent bias training to expose implicit biases and to challenge automatic ways of thinking that lead to discriminatory behaviours.  
In November 2020 we partnered with Chloe Pierre of Thy.Self to run a team-wide workshop on diversity and inclusion to facilitate reflection on how we can be more inclusive at Heist and to explore what it means to be a diverse and inclusive brand.

The team worked in partnership with Inclusive Employers to build and deliver an introductory learning and development session on Unconscious Bias in December 2020. The aim was to create a safe space to talk about and better understand biases, diversity and inclusion and, specifically, address the role confronting bias can play in anti-racism action.  

As a team we are continuing on our learning and development journey and in April 2021 we invited Positive Psychology expert Tia Moin to facilitate a session on how to use a positive, strengths-based approach to address bias. The team is now planning on how to apply these learnings, starting with an initiative to better understand each other’s strengths.

MARKETING

Continue to actively on-board brand partners from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities including but not exclusive to; models, influencers, stylists and photographers.
We have developed a wider committee approach to on-boarding brand partners in order to uphold diversity and inclusion.

Give up Heist platforms to celebrate and amplify the voices and stories of Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities.
We continue to commit to proactively seeking out and collaborating with diverse communities. Most recently, we worked with new individuals to create content ahead of the launch of our latest underwear collection, which was amplified across all marketing channels.

RECRUITMENT

Diversify outreach for new candidates by utilising a wider spectrum of job boards, professional networks and referral systems.
As of September 2020, all of our hiring opportunities have been posted on job boards and referred through professional networks which reach diverse groups and communities.

Establish an “always on” paid internship programme for young people from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities.  
We have enrolled on the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, a programme which aims to give unemployed people aged 18-24 paid work experience. We will be offering 6 month employment opportunities to young people from diverse communities, paying them the London Living Wage. We aim to launch our Kickstart Scheme in June 2021 and be a stepping stone in their career development with opportunities for them to grow and gain experience across finance, business operations and data analysis.