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Diversity, equity, & inclusion

Side view of two people walking next to building wearing Brooks black jackets

Our approach

The run is who we are. At Brooks, we believe in the power and kinetic joy of the run. This fuels our passion for the sport and the running community. The shoes and gear we develop, the experiences we create, and the partnerships we build should help make the run more inclusive and accessible. We are taking a strategic approach to ensure our values are represented in our business, and we are committed to reducing barriers to participation in the running industry, on the run, and in the running community.

Two runners on a road on a sunny day

Our diversity, equity & inclusion efforts are guided by three objectives:

1

Workplace

Promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.

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2

Runners

Ensure representation of all who run.

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3

Run community

Foster diversity and inclusion in the run community.

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Workplace

Promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

We believe in the power of diversity that includes people of different races/ethnicities, national origins, abilities, genders, ages, sexual orientations, body types and circumstances. We are pursuing practices that will achieve equity in our business — so everyone feels a sense of belonging as their own, authentic self.

Group of Brooks employees holding a sign saying "Global Running Day"

Our targets:

  • Achieve at least 50% women representation at all levels of Brooks U.S. employees
  • Achieve at least 30% BIPOC representation at all levels of Brooks U.S. employees
  • Maintain our Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Corporate Equality Index” score of 100 / 100
  • Achieve 100% pay equity for all women and BIPOC Brooks U.S. employees
  • Maintain our 4.0+ Inclusive Culture score on Brooks employee Cultural Strengths Survey

*All diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments apply to the U.S. only

**BIPOC refers to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

Gender demographics

At Brooks, we are focusing on growing women leadership in our workplace through hiring practices and our leadership and career development programs. We aim to create a healthy pipeline of gender-balanced talent to help lead Brooks.

Racial demographics

As a global company, we recognize the unique social construct of race in the U.S. It is important our U.S. workforce reflects the diversity of the U.S. population. To track our evolution in the U.S., we measure ourselves against 2020 U.S. Census demographic data estimates. At our headquarters in Seattle, Washington, we collect and analyze data of our workforce overall — along with the racial diversity at each level of our organization as we strive for racial equity amongst historically underrepresented groups.

Corporate Equality Index

We’ve made big strides in our commitment to equality and in evolving our organization’s policies and practices to be equitable and inclusive. Our efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been recognized by the national Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). Our annual participation in the CEI — the nation’s premier benchmarking survey and report measuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) policies and practices in the workplace — is a way to keep ourselves accountable to our DEI goals and to track how we’re doing. The CEI score is determined by three main criteria: workforce protections, inclusive benefits, and supporting an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility.

Pay equity

Brooks began incorporating pay equity analysis into our hiring, promotion, and compensation processes in 2018. During offers and our annual compensation reviews, we analyze pay equity across employees in similar roles within our organization.

Inclusive culture

Brooks is committed to maintaining a workplace culture where everyone feels a sense of belonging and each person’s uniqueness is valued. We contribute to this through our various employee programs, including Mentorship, Leader-Led Training, Connect Manager Training, Unconscious Bias Training, New Employee Orientation, Brooks Buddy, the DEI Speaker Series, Book Club, Employee Awards, and Employee Resource Groups. On an annual basis, Brooks conducts an employee Cultural Strengths Survey to assess our culture. One area of focus within the assessment is “inclusive environment,” which is rated on a 5-point scale. We also do an overall review of our organization’s annual inclusion scores by demographic cohort to ensure there are no significant disparities between dominant and historically underrepresented groups.

Runners

Ensure representation of all who run.

Brooks commits to tell stories through a diverse set of runners and celebrate the power of the run to bring people together.

Three runners side by side on concrete path

Our targets:

  • Maintain 40% BIPOC representation in marketing stories and images
  • Achieve 40% BIPOC representation in product testing by 2025
  • Achieve 40% BIPOC representation in consumer insights by 2025

Representation in:

Marketing

With a focus on racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ diversity, Brooks recognizes the importance of representation, and we believe our marketing should reflect all who run. We work to diversify our model casting in photography and videos, our influencer and athlete teams, and our campaign partners. As we continue to track our marketing demographic data, we will learn and build on this foundation to advance representation on the run.

Product wear testing & consumer insights

We want to make sure each run is better than the last — a simple enough principle that guides every design and engineering choice we make. These decisions are brought to life on the unique, real-world humans who wear our gear. Our success is the result of tireless research with runners of every shape, strength, and experience. We value runners’ unique experiences and perspectives and seek to ensure we incorporate the most diverse group of runners possible as we develop our gear.

Run community

Foster diversity and inclusion in the run community

Brooks engages directly with our community by building partnerships with industry organizations that advance DEI, through our community impact programs that support teams and organizations advancing health and well-being through the power of the run, and by increasing diversity and inclusion.

Marathon Kids

Our targets:

  • Dedicate more than $5M per year in cash and gear to social impact programs
  • Focus on partnerships that make the benefits of the run accessible to everyone
  • Support increased diversity of the U.S. running population (40% BIPOC by 2025)

Industry partnerships

Brooks partners with various organizations to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in running at an industry level. We are proud to be a founding partner of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition (RIDC). The coalition brings together running brands, running retailers, and BIPOC runners who are working together to increase diversity within the running industry. Our other partners include:

Business Coalition for the Equality Act
Camber Outdoors
Empowerun
Greater Seattle Business Association
Human Rights Campaign
In Solidarity Project
Running USA
Sports & Fitness Industry Association
Future Run

Future Run

Brooks works to create as many opportunities as possible for young people to discover the lifelong benefits of the run and its powerful community.


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Community partnerships

Running has the power to build community and effect positive change. Brooks helps to strengthen our community partners through sponsorships, financial support, and gear donations, so together we can champion the run for all.