Caroline McCarthy: Why you should swing by the Puck Building this holiday season
caro:
There is a great holiday initiative called xx4xmas going on right now on behalf of Rachel Sklar and Tereza Nemessanyi to encourage shoppers to support women-owned businesses this season. They are highlighting some of my all-time favorite online cash drains like Foodzie (remember the bacon chocolate tasting?), Of A Kind, and Chloe & Isabel. Check them out for some really unique stuff.
What I like about this is that it isn’t yet another head-scratching exploration of “why there are no women” in [name of field], because goodness knows we have enough of those. It’s highlighting and celebrating what’s already out there and who’s actually doing things that rock.
So, in the same spirit: If you want to show your support for women-run and diversity-committed businesses this holiday season, go hit up that big, sparkling new REI store in the Puck Building (full open Friday, soft open NOW!!!!!!) and buy lots of fun stuff like tents and climbing rope and GoreTex boots and bear spray (you never know when one of those notorious New Jersey bears will decide to saunter over the GWB). I am not just encouraging you to do this because I need more hiking buddies, even though I do.
REI gets a lot of positive press for its sustainability and philanthropy initiatives, the fact that it’s been on Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For list for a decade and a half, as well as for a consumer influence so powerful that it can make-or-break an emerging outdoors brand. But here’s where things get exciting for those of you interested in supporting businesses where women are running the show:
- The president and CEO is female and a total badass.
- If you do not feel like clicking on that link, the short version is that she’s in her mid-50s and still goes around doing stuff like climbing 16,000-foot mountains in Antarctica.
- 5 of the company’s 14 VPs are women (it actually might be 6, because one of them has a first name that could swing either way).
- Take a good look at its board of directors. 4 out of 11 are women.
Yes, not quite 50% on the board and leadership ratios, but way closer to half than is the norm at a public company in the US. Keep in mind that this is not even a company that primarily targets women (e.g. Avon with its 50% board ratio), which unfortunately still makes people assume it’s run by dudes. I sent a modified version of this post out to a women-in-tech e-mail list I’m on, and someone responded with “I’ve been an REI fan for years and had no idea who was behind it. Sad to say I just assumed it was a man.” Now you know.
There are a lot of New Yorkers who are saying they won’t patronize REI because rival Paragon is a local institution, and I understand that mentality. Personally, I think “it’s local” shouldn’t be the only criterion for supporting a business (though it’s a compelling one). So if you support national retailers that are growing and kicking ass with powerful women at the helm, as well as companies with a borderline adorable dedication to getting New Yorkers outside, please hit up this store.
Also, counter-bear defense ops.
