By sharing its proprietary P.A.C.E. program
with other organizations, company seeks to harness collective
action for the advancement of women throughout the world
Art Peck, chief executive officer of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS),
announced today a significant Clinton Global Initiative Commitment
to Action to advance the lives of one million women by 2020 by
expanding the company’s award-winning life-skills education
program, Gap Inc. P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career
Enhancement).
To achieve this ambitious goal, Peck outlined plans to continue
scaling the P.A.C.E. program within Gap Inc.’s global supply chain
and in communities around the world. Additionally, P.A.C.E. will
broaden into a suite of learning programs with new curriculum to
reach adolescent girls in their communities as well as a women’s
leadership program for P.A.C.E. graduates or women in communities
who have demonstrated leadership ability. And, for the first time,
Gap Inc. will offer access to this signature proprietary program to
global partners and other corporations to further broaden the
program’s reach.
“From Phnom Penh to Pittsburgh, women share in common an
ambition to advance. What some lack are opportunities, particularly
access to education,” said Peck. “We are committed to advancing the
lives of one million women by expanding our P.A.C.E. program, and
we hope others will join us. We know that with the right
opportunities, women become powerful agents of change in their
families and in their communities.”
Launched in 2007, P.A.C.E. delivers tangible change in women’s
lives. Designed as an education program offering life-skills
classes to female garment workers, the holistic curriculum includes
up to 80 hours of classes in as many as nine subject areas, such as
communication skills; financial literacy; time and stress
management; and problem solving and decision-making.
P.A.C.E.’s evaluation results have demonstrated that the program
improves the lives of women and their families by developing
women’s knowledge, skills and confidence. The program also has a
strong business impact by reducing turnover and absenteeism. Among
the awards P.A.C.E. has received is the 2014 Empowerment of Women
Award by the Global CSR Summit & Awards.
P.A.C.E. caught the attention of President Bill Clinton in 2012,
at which time the former president encouraged Gap Inc. to consider
expanding the footprint of P.A.C.E. to benefit more women globally.
It was therefore fitting that Peck delivered the company’s
commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, held
this week in New York.
To date, P.A.C.E. has reached more than 30,000 women in ten
countries. Gap Inc. initially offered the program in factories
manufacturing its products. In 2012 the company expanded the
program into community settings. With this announcement, the
curriculum can now be leveraged in a variety of settings with a
broad set of partners.
Today’s announcement will further expand P.A.C.E.’s reach
by:
- Collaborating with new and existing
partners, including others in the garment industry, corporations,
development agencies, and NGOs, to reach one million women in both
manufacturing and community settings.
- Opening the proprietary program to
select partners, through a no-fee, franchise-type model. These new
partners will receive extensive training on the P.A.C.E. curriculum
in order to replicate the program’s success.
- Expanding the scope of the P.A.C.E.
curriculum to create a suite of learning programs, including a new
educational program for girls in the community, ages 13-18, and a
new women’s leadership curriculum.
“P.A.C.E.’s newly expanded life-skills education program is
designed to meet the needs of women and girls wherever they are in
their lives,” said Dotti Hatcher, Gap Inc. Executive Director,
P.A.C.E. Global Programs. “The new curricula will give girls the
skills, confidence and technical abilities they need to change the
trajectory of their lives and empower women to lead their
communities. We believe in advancing women to advance the
world.”
Longtime P.A.C.E. partners Swasti Health Resource Centre, an
international organization focused on public health outcomes for
the poor; the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a
global institute dedicated to empowering women; and CARE, a leading
global humanitarian organization, will continue to play pivotal
roles in the program’s expansion.
To mark the call to action to educate one million women,
hundreds of Gap Inc. employees will gather in Times Square on
Wednesday, September 30 to build a pop-up artistic representation
of just one of the incredible women who have graduated from the
P.A.C.E. program.
About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering product
collections and personal care products for men, women, and children
under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix
brands. Fiscal year 2014 net sales were $16.4 billion. Gap Inc.
products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries
worldwide through about 3,300 company-operated stores, over 400
franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information,
please visit www.gapinc.com.
Gap Inc. strives to make a positive impact in the communities
where it does business. The company partners with community
organizations to focus on programs that align with its business
expertise, believing it can make the biggest difference by
advancing women, teens and young adults and through supporting
volunteers. For more information please visit
www.bewhatspossible.com.
Launched in 2007, Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. program creates
opportunities for women to advance in their careers and personal
lives. For more information on Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. program and
other community investments, please visit www.gap.com/pace.
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton
Global Initiative (CGI)—an initiative of the Bill, Hillary &
Chelsea Clinton Foundation—convenes global leaders to create and
implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing
challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180
heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading
CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and
members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have
made nearly 3,200 commitments, improving the lives of more than 430
million people in over 180 countries.
CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on
collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States,
and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and
graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community
or around the world. For more information, visit
clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal
and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150928006057/en/
Gap Inc.Laura Wilkinson, 415-427-5335Press@gap.com
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