Inclusive by design

Introduction

Zalando brings together thousands of brands and millions of people across Europe. Built and supported by thousands of employees from over 140 countries, Zalando’s pan-European ecosystem is an example of diversity in action.

The launch of Zalando’s do.BETTER strategy in 2021 officially established diversity and inclusion as a priority, collecting years of experience and expertise into a formal approach. It introduced a compelling vision: to be the Starting Point for Fashion that is welcoming to everyone. We strive to be inclusive by design, bringing to life the diversity of our talents, leaders, customers and partners, alongside ambitious goals organised along four strategic pillars; Talents, Leadership, Customers, and Partners. 

While we are proud of the great progress we’ve made, we know it’s a journey. There’s more to do and there’s more progress and potential to be unlocked. That’s why we updated our strategy in 2026, incorporating past learnings, the latest findings and recent developments - all while looking to the future.

Being inclusive by design remains at the heart of the strategy and our commitments. Because by doing so, we unlock the potential of our people, our platform and our industry. This ambition reflects a simple idea: when more people can participate meaningfully, everyone benefits. We’ve seen it in action again and again over the years of collaboration, learning and shared success since 2008. 

Our updated strategy builds on the ambition of do.BETTER and sharpens it into a focused, outcome-driven framework. It sets targeted priorities that contribute to empowered teams, informed decision making, greater innovation and remarkable experiences for customers and partners. We focus on two pillars, each with three impact areas which will help us build a high performing business, create meaningful progress and unlock potential and growth.

Unlocking the potential of our people

At Zalando, we create an inclusive culture by building equitable systems and empowering teams through inclusive leadership and mutual accountability.

1. Inclusive leadership

We all shape the culture we work in, but our leaders set the standard. Our focus is on making inclusive leadership a shared capability with clear, measurable accountability. This will include:

• Setting clear expectations for leaders around embedding inclusivity into everyday processes, from business reviews to talent management.
• Ongoing learning and skills-building through training and mentorship.
• Visible accountability through feedback, development reviews and championing role model behaviour.

2. Equitable systems

Equity is about designing systems that work for everyone; not by treating everyone the same, but by removing barriers so individual employees have access to what they need to succeed. Our focus will include:

• Mitigating bias in hiring, promotion and performance decisions.
• Strengthening transparency, pay equity and trust in grievance processes.
• Designing policies and practices that support different life stages, abilities and experiences. 

3. Diverse teams

Diverse teams at every level of the business help us understand the diverse needs of our broad customer base, make better decisions, and innovate more successfully. We will focus on steady, measurable progress in strategic growth areas. Our continued priority will be women in leadership and tech roles, while also continuing to support wider communities across the business.

Specifically, our focus will include:

• Increasing the number of women in leadership and in tech job families, aiming to land between 40-60% of women in the top 5 leadership levels and across the different tech job families.
• Removing barriers to opportunity, giving greater access to Disabled people and underrepresented talent via training, partnerships and inclusive hiring. 
• Support Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), focusing on visibility, collaboration and resources.

Unlocking the potential of our platform and industry

Zalando strives to be a welcoming platform for all customers and partners seeking inclusive products, accessible experiences and authentic representation, with a focus on Adaptive fashion. 

1. Inclusive products and partnerships

Inclusive design helps us serve customers who have historically been underserved in the industry. Our work in Adaptive fashion has shown what is possible when customer insight, design innovation and commercial opportunity align. Going forward, our focus will include:

• Scaling our Adaptive fashion assortment, where we see significant demand and a truly life-enhancing impact for customers.
• Working even more closely with the Disabled community, designers and consumers alike, to upskill and deliver on this ambition. 
• Continuing to provide our established Inclusive sizing, Modest, and Genderless ranges.

2. Inclusive experiences

Customers experience Zalando in many different ways. Designing for inclusion means striving for our platform to offer an excellent experience for as many people as possible, improving satisfaction and long-term value. Our focus will include:

• Designing end-to-end experiences around a greater understanding of our customers.
• Embedding European accessibility standards into product design and development to make onsite and app usage more accessible.
• Ongoing training, accessibility testing and feedback to prevent new barriers.

3. Authentic representation

Zalando welcomes everyone and we know representation has the greatest impact when it is consistent, credible and respectful. Our focus will include:

• Focussed and authentic representation, led by lived experience - avoiding stereotypes through clear standards, training and guidance.
• Connecting more directly to our inclusive products, partnerships, experiences and major moments in the calendar; from International Women's Day to Pride and Black History Month.
• Ensuring the Zalando brand feels welcoming and inclusive, serving the diverse needs of our broad customer base, across markets and communities. 

Making progress, moving forward

Inclusive by design is a deliberate step forward on our D&I journey and we look forward to bringing it to life over the coming years. We’re excited to build on the foundation we’ve set, continue to learn and improve and to make further progress together with our partners and colleagues. We know that this won’t be easy. But while the world continues to shift and change around us, our belief in the mutual benefits and innovative power of diversity, equity and inclusion remains firm. 

Guided by this belief and supported by years of experience, we’re confident that by focusing our efforts where they can make a meaningful difference, we will have a greater, long-lasting impact that extends far beyond our platform and into the wider fashion industry.