H&M launches first-ever STEM programme in UK before global roll-out

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Feb 23, 2022

H&M has announced a new initiative to "level up the STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] playing field while driving forward sustainable fashion solutions”.

So the Swedish fashion giant is launching its first-ever STEM programme in the UK this month before rolling out the programme globally. 

And the first initiative aims to “inspire women and non-binary people to reach for roles in STEM”.

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In partnership with charity Stemettes, the programme will focus on “sustainability and style”. Participants will explore STEM’s “contribution to a more sustainable fashion future”.

This will be achieved through a panel and networking event, a ‘hackathon’ and one-to-one mentoring by H&M’s ‘STEM role models’, who come from a range of fields including artificial intelligence, customer centric technology, assortment and product development. 

H&M said the programme marks “a key step in our quest to become more inclusive and diverse. The representation of women and non-binary people in the increasingly digitalised STEM fields is an important equality issue that needs readdressing, since these groups have been historically under-represented”. 

Its partnership with Stemettes in the UK will be followed by a series of programmes being rolled out around the world by H&M Group.

Pascal Brun, Head of Sustainability at H&M, said: “This is about the future and how we bring tech, science and data into the core of what we do. I think through this programme, we could position ourselves and attract future talent, which will be a core competence in future.”