Burberry champions young voices to celebrate International Women’s Day 2021

• Burberry continues its support of London Youth and The Prince’s Trust Women Supporting Women Initiative, with donations helping to provide resources and development opportunities for young women.
• In a special celebratory film, London Youth ambassadors and members of the Burberry family, including models Aaron Philip, He Cong, Irina Shayk, Jourdan Dunn, Lea T and Mariacarla Boscono, artist Jazz Grant and June Sarpong OBE, BBC Director of Creative Diversity, discuss themes ranging from modern womanhood to their hopes and ambitions for the future.
• The Burberry Foundation also enters a new partnership with London Youth, providing additional support to young people in some of London’s most deprived communities. 
• Burberry is now a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, supporting its ambition to achieve gender equality.

This International Women’s Day, Burberry is championing the voices of young women and strengthening our support of charities driving meaningful change, furthering our work to empower the next generation and build a more equitable and inclusive future for all.

Burberry is continuing to support London Youth by providing a donation to help fund programmes for young women and girls across the charity’s network of over 600 community youth organisations. This builds on London Youth’s mission to provide all young Londoners with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to succeed, overcoming the structural barriers that so many young people face today.

In addition, Burberry has made a donation to The Prince’s Trust Women Supporting Women initiative, a longstanding charity partner. Our donation will enable hundreds of women to access virtual speed interviews with employers, online courses to develop employability skills and education support through the Change a Girl’s Life campaign.

In a special celebratory film, London Youth ambassadors Kalliyah, Margarett, Maya and Shakira and members of the Burberry family, including models Aaron Philip, He Cong, Irina Shayk, Jourdan Dunn, Lea T and Mariacarla Boscono, artist Jazz Grant and June Sarpong OBE, BBC Director of Creative Diversity, came together to discuss themes ranging from modern womanhood to their hopes and ambitions for the future. 

The Burberry Foundation has also entered into a new, separate partnership with London Youth, providing young people in some of London’s most deprived communities with the resources and support to build resilience against the short and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Foundation will contribute funding to the 15 youth clubs Burberry first supported in 2020. This will go towards providing cover for youth worker costs, mental health support, facilitating access to online education tools, and ensuring those who are in difficult financial situations have access to nutrition, essential items and safe community spaces.

Erica Bourne, Chief People Officer, Burberry said: “Charities such as London Youth and The Prince’s Trust play a pivotal role in improving the lives of young women and we are proud to support their work on International Women’s Day. Driving gender equality across our business and communities is critical to creating a truly inclusive future, and we were inspired by the powerful reflections and stories of the women in our celebratory film. In adopting the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, we are reinforcing our own commitment to diversity and inclusion and adding our support to those who are driving real impact.”

Pam Batty, Secretary to The Burberry Foundation and VP of Corporate Responsibility, Burberry said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on young people. By providing vital resources for mental health, nutrition, education and protecting community spaces, we can ensure they have a brighter future. We are delighted to be embarking on this new partnership with London Youth, working together to help communities overcome challenges, unlock new possibilities and create meaningful lasting change.”

Rosemary Watt-Wyness, CEO of London Youth said: “The International Women’s Day Burberry Voices campaign has been an incredible experience for young women from our youth board, providing a high profile, creative platform from which their voices can be heard. After such a challenging year of their lives, it’s wonderful to see Maya, Shakira, Kalliyah and Margarett emerge with such inspirational messages of hope for us all. We’re pleased to continue our close partnership with the Burberry Foundation to help ensure young Londoners have the support that they need at this crucial moment.”

Frances Milner, Director of Fundraising at The Prince’s Trust, said: “The pandemic has impacted all of us – and for many young women, their challenges seem insurmountable. During the pandemic, they may have lost their jobs, taken on greater caring responsibilities, been affected by domestic violence or mental illness. The Prince’s Trust helps these young women rebuild their lives. The #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign aims to harness the power of brands and raise life-changing funds around International Women’s Day. It is more important than ever that we work together to support young women in the UK and drive real change for the next generation.”

Reinforcing our commitment to building an inclusive future where everyone can succeed, Burberry has adopted the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. Spanning corporate leadership, wellbeing, training, community efforts and transparency of disclosure, the framework will build on the actions we are taking to advance gender equality as part of our overall global Diversity and Inclusion strategy. These include Burberry’s industry-leading global parental leave policy, refreshed development programmes and global allyship training, underpinned by ambitious targets across hiring and succession planning shortlists – efforts that have been recognised by Burberry’s inclusion in the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.

Find out more about Burberry’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion here.

NOTES TO EDITORS

FILM CAST

• Aaron Philip, model
• He Cong, model
• Irina Shayk, model
• Isamaya Ffrench, Global Beauty Director, Burberry Beauty
• Jazz Grant, artist
• Jourdan Dunn, model
• Judy Collinson, Burberry
• June Sarpong OBE, Director of Creative Diversity, BBC
• Lea T, model
• Mariacarla Boscono, model
  
• Kalliyah, Young Ambassador, London Youth
• Margarett, Young Ambassador, London Youth   
• Maya, Young Ambassador, London Youth
• Shakira, Young Ambassador, London Youth

ABOUT THE BURBERRY FOUNDATION

• The Burberry Foundation (UK registered charity number 1154468) was set up in 2008 by Burberry Group plc as an independent charity for general charitable purposes and grant-making. The Board meets four times a year and is responsible for upholding the Foundation’s vision and ensuring delivery of its charitable purpose. Considering the varied social, environmental and economic impacts of the luxury industry on communities worldwide, the Foundation is dedicated to using the power of creativity to drive positive change in our communities and build a more sustainable future through innovation. It is therefore taking a long-term approach and focuses its grant-making on projects that tackle educational inequality and build cultural capital; foster community cohesion and employability skills; and support social and economic development.

ABOUT LONDON YOUTH

• London Youth is a charity on a mission to improve the lives of young people in London, challenging them to become the best they can be. We’ve been championing outstanding youth work for over 130 years. We directly develop the confidence, resilience and relationship skills of over 27,000 children and young people each year through our arts and culture, employability, outdoor education, sports, and youth social action programmes. In every borough of London, through programmes run every day and most evenings and services open to all, our network of over 650 members reach tens of thousands more. More information about London Youth is available at: londonyouth.org.
• In November 2020, Burberry and London Youth worked to deliver ’keeping the lights on’ grants, supporting 15 youth clubs across London to provide seasonal comfort for young people most impacted by the pandemic. Organisations awarded grants met young people’s basic needs at Christmas, including food for those at risk of going hungry, access to online provision and activities to help young people stay connected with each other.

ABOUT THE PRINCE’S TRUST

• The Prince’s Trust helps young people all over the UK to build their confidence and skills and supports them into jobs, education and training. Founded by The Prince of Wales in 1976, the charity supports 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed, struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust’s youth support workers and mentors are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, or have been in trouble with the law. The courses offered by The Trust give young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Trust has helped over a million young people to date. Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk.
• The #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign aims to support young women who are struggling to find a job or losing hope for the future. The money raised will help support young women across the UK to receive life-changing support and guidance from The Prince’s Trust, enabling and empowering them to move forward with renewed confidence into a job, training, further education, or to start a business.
• A longstanding partner of the Prince’s Trust, Burberry has worked with The Trust’s Women Supporting Women community since 2019.

ABOUT THE UN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLES

• The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) guide businesses on how to promote gender equality and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. Jointly established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are underpinned by international labour standards and human rights and by the recognition that businesses have an important role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Adopting the seven principles demonstrates that businesses are committed to deliver on the ambitions for gender equality and women’s empowerment as outlined in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and in the 17 SDGs.

BURBERRY’S COMMITMENT TO GENDER EQUALITY

• We have rigorously reviewed and implemented policies, programmes and practices to support our ambition, work recently recognised by our inclusion in the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.
• We are proud to have maintained a leading position in the FTSE 100 for women in leadership for the third straight year, as recognised in the latest Hampton-Alexander Review. Our Combined Executive Committee and Direct Reports team is composed of 50.4% women, which reflects our firm commitment to achieving gender equality globally across Burberry.
• In the past year, we have introduced an industry-leading parental leave policy to support new parents returning to work, and with a focus on fostering an inclusive culture, we refreshed our development programmes to embed our values in how we lead across the business and rolled out global allyship training.
• We ensure our recruitment and succession planning practices are inclusive, including shortlists having at least a 50/50 gender split and at least 25% ethnic diversity, and broadening our talent pipeline through our community programmes and partnerships.