Cultivate Community

URBN is on a journey to foster a work environment that provides inspiration, unity, and value for all of our employees.

Our Diversity & Inclusion pillars:
· Foster a respectful, inclusive culture

· Build a talented, diverse, and united workforce

· Nurture long-term connections with our community

Foster a Respectful, Inclusive Culture

Starting in 2020, URBN began requiring a D&I Fundamentals Course for all employees. In 2022, URBN joined the Open to All initiative, making a commitment to take actions to mitigate bias in the shopper experience, and foster an inclusive shopping experience across our brands, be held accountable by our customers and employees.

The URBN Diversity & Inclusion Committee, formed in 2020, is made up of highly engaged members across our community. The D&I Committee acts as representatives of URBN’s diverse workforce and customers.

Upon hire, URBN’s Home Office employees receive eight hours of paid time off per fiscal year to volunteer with qualified organizations. Employees can also participate in one of URBN’s Creativity Cares events, community-building volunteer opportunities with some of our local nonprofit partners.

In 2021, URBN launched a new continuous listening strategy, including an overall employee engagement survey, pulse surveys, and updated new hire and exit surveys. Engage@URBN allows us to better understand the employee experience so we can shape URBN’s culture and environment.

The URBN Mentorship pilot program kicked off in mid-2022. The program connect employees across departments & brands to build community, broaden perspectives and sharpen skills.

In 2022, URBN launched a partnership with Progyny to provide employees with inclusive fertility and family building benefits that support all paths to parenthood. Progyny provides personalized healthcare services including in-vitro fertilization, egg freezing, and sperm freezing

Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups are designed to bring employees together to build community and develop skills and relationships that support their paths at URBN and beyond. These groups will help cultivate an even more inclusive culture and uphold our values – Unite, Respect, Build, Nurture.

Build a Talented and Diverse Workforce

In 2021 and 2022, URBN piloted a 10-week internship and mentorship program for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) recognized for their academic excellence and creative prowess. Spanning production, technical design, and sourcing, the Summer Class program has served as a deep dive in fashion for these highly qualified students. Each Summer Class internship culminated in a special capsule collection sold at URBN brand retail locations and ecommerce sites.

URBN is a founding partner of Creatives Want Change, an organization dedicated to cultivating young Black creative talent through educational and mentorship opportunities. Thanks in part to URBN’s funding in 2021, CWC was able to send 25 students to pre-college programs in art and design. In addition to financial support, URBN is partnering with CWC to further their mission to encourage Black students in fashion.

Store associates are at the heart of URBN, which is why URBN’s talent team invests heavily in developing a robust Field to Home Office program, which features a number of virtual and in-person events that provide field employees with resume and interviewing workshops and the opportunity to apply to open Home Office roles.

In 2022, URBN piloted a 10-month Rotational Program aimed at providing Field Employees with an onramp to full-time employment. The team is working on optimizing this program in the hopes of expanding it in the future.

URBN Employee Training Programs are designed to support employees in the critical areas of tools & techniques, career growth, compliance, business strategy and leadership. We have several immersion programs designed to support accurate and equitable onboarding into our key business areas and a leadership development academy centered around our core competencies for success.

Nurture Long-Term Connections with our Community

URBN Will Donate $10M Over the Next Five Years to Qualified Nonprofits

URBN IMPACT is our new charitable giving platform that strategically aligns our giving with our values.

Fostering Creativity in the Next Generation Creative, entrepreneurial people are at the heart of URBN. That’s why URBN is committed to fostering creativity in the next generation through invevstments in education and specialized training initiatives. We do this through corporate partnerships and direct investments to youth empowerment programs.

Environmental & Social Responsibility URBN is working to reduce our impact on the planet, including efforts to reduce waste, use more responsible materials, and empower the people in our supply chain. Our goal is to leave the world a bit better than we found it.