A Bullseye View. Behind the scenes at Target

diversity & inclusion

At Target, our team rallies around a single purpose: to help all families discover the joy of everyday life.

That purpose and our inclusion of “all” directly connects to our inclusivity value as a company. We champion a more inclusive society through creating an inclusive guest experience, having an inclusive work environment, ensuring we have a diverse workforce and leveraging our influence to drive positive impact on society.

How we do that starts with staying open:

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Stay Open - Target Diversity & Inclusion

stay open

It means getting comfortable being uncomfortable, and giving everyone access to the same opportunities.

It means being bold, accountable, and curious. Together.

Let’s ask more questions. Let’s listen courageously.

There is only one you. And you, your stories and your experiences, are exactly what we need.

We invite you to stay open with us.

group of team members take a selfie with ceo Brian Cornell

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Diversity & inclusion are at the heart of what we do at Target. 75% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Target store—and in order to win in retail, we need to reflect that population in our team to ensure we deliver the product, services, experiences and messages our guests want and need.

Brian Cornell
chairman and chief executive officer

woman in colorful clothing stands in front of a wall of graffiti

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We know that in this business landscape people get to choose whether or not they want to engage with us, and they make those decisions with their dollars. In order to continue to be a place where people want to come and spend their money, we have to be connected to who our potential customers are across the board, and in order to stay relevant as a business, we have to be sure our guests are seeing experiences, products, and services that reflect who they are.

Caroline Wanga
vice president and chief culture, diversity & inclusion officer

d&i goals and results

Every Team Member plays a role in supporting how we champion an inclusive society. Here are some of our results from 2016-2018.

infographic showcasing d&i goals data
champion an inclusive society
At Target, diversity and inclusion are key to our business strategy. To be able to remain relevant with the products, services, experiences and messages our guests expect, we must have their perspectives represented in our team and work.
For us, diversity is about recognizing that our dimensions of difference are actually our greatest strength, and then building an Inclusive environment in which everyone feels welcome, valued, respected, and free to bring their full selves… whether that’s to work, to a shopping experience… or to their communities.  We strive for parity and to give everyone equitable access to opportunities.
To advance Diversity & Inclusion, we champion a more inclusive society through creating an inclusive guest experience, having an inclusive work environment, ensuring we have a diverse workforce and leveraging our influence to drive positive impact on society.
Three years ago, we established commitments as a mechanism to help drive focus and measure progress within our broader diversity and inclusion strategy. While we are proud of the progress we have made, we recognize the opportunity ahead.
Supplier diversity (up arrow) 64.4% tier 1 spend
Hispanic media #2 spend in retail
Localized product (up arrow) 77% in sales; beauty, toys, food
Corporate Responsibility 51% of spending to diverse communities
Hiring (up arrow) 8% exempt team members
Turnover (down arrow) 8%
Representation 20+% across all position levels
80+% D&I Experience Favorability
 

2019-2021 commitments

We still have work to do.

We are looking towards the future – and a set of new commitments for our business and team. Over the next three years, we will track our progress as a company in three key areas:

  • Representation: Ensure our team equitably reflects the national qualified applicant pools within the communities we serve; Equitably retain and advance our talented team
  • Inclusive Experience: Deliver an equitable experience for all Team Members; Drive inclusive leadership and individual behavior
  • Business: Ongoing investment in diverse suppliers; Continued reach to multicultural audiences with relevant marketing messages; Relevant assortments that meet the needs of the multicultural guest

what we stand for

Across Target, we embrace diversity and strive to give everyone access to the same opportunities. We do this through inclusive guest experiences, inclusive work environments, workforce diversity and societal impact.

  • inclusive work environments : minimize panel

    Safe and inclusive work environments where all dimensions of difference are valued and represented, while all team members feel welcome and able to bring their authenticity to deliver results.

    We do all this through across many areas of our business including:

    • Accountabilities, reporting and incentives (for example, D&I goals and results reported above). This work is dependent on an enterprise ecosystem composed of merchandising, marketing, communications, human resources, supplier diversity, corporate responsibility and many other teams whose performance is tied to their diversity and inclusion goals.
    • Developing inclusion acumen among our teams—the knowledge, skills and ability to create an inclusive environment where those around you feel safe, welcome, valued and empowered to do their best work without compromising who they are. At Target we prioritize:
      • Personal curiosity: whether listening to a podcast, watching a video or reading an article, there's always something new to learn.
      • Immersive experiences: when it comes to building empathy, experience is our greatest teacher. Teams might engage in theatrical learning experiences, "Meet the Guest" simulations and visit museum exhibits together.
      • Topical training: Whether in the classroom or in a virtual setting, we strive to meet our learners where they are and present important topics like bias training and peer learning.
    • Hiring and retaining a diverse team. careers
    • Our employee resource groups:
      • Target Business Councils:
        • African American Business Council
        • Asian Business Council
        • Hispanic Business Council
        • Military Business Council
        • PRIDE+ Business Council
        • Women's Business Council
      • Target Networks, such as:
        • Ability Awareness Network
        • Christian Network
        • Cycling Network
        • Jewish Network
        • Muslim Network
        • RedGamers Network
        • Spots A Cappella
        • Parent and Family Network

     

related reading

learn more about Target

Here is another area we suggest you explore:

feeling the love

DiversityInc magazine ranks Target #14 overall and the #1 retailer on its 2019 list of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity

see the full list

proud moment

Savoy Magazine's 2019 list of the Most Influential Women in Corporate America includes Target leaders Laysha Ward and Caroline Wanga

read all about it

high marks

The Human Rights Campaign gave Target a score of 100 on its 2019 Corporate Equality Index

read the report