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00:00CHILDREN LIVE IN HOUSEHOLDS WHERE ALL ADULTS ARE EMPLOYED. THE MAJORITY OF WORKERS SPENT MORE THAN 40 HOURS A WEEK ON THE JOB. PRODUCTIVITY HAS INCREASED 440% WHILE BENEFITS LIKE LEAVE AND HEALTH CARE ARE NOT GUARANTEED. IN THE TECH INDUSTRY, THERE IS A RISING SPLIT IN THE WORKFORCE. COMPETITIVE PAY WITH GREAT BENEFITS OR SALARIED WORKERS WHILE WAREHOUSE AND HOURLY WORKERS ARE LEFT WITH LITTLE OR NO INCENTIVE. JENNIFER HYMAN WROTE ABOUT THIS ISSUE SAYING OUR HOURLY WORKERS WORKING AT THE RENT THE RUNWAY WAREHOUSE AND RETAIL STORES HAVE TO FACE LIFE EVENTS LIKE A NEWBORN, GRIEVING FOR THE DEATH OF A FAMILY MEMBER OR TAKING CARE OF A LOVED ONE WITHOUT THE SAME LEVEL OF BENEFITS. JENNIFER HYMAN JOINS ME NOW. BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AND MADE A BIG CHANGE. HOW DID YOU COME TO THIS REALIZATION? JENNIFER: THE CHANGE -- WE DECIDED TO EQUALIZE BENEFITS ACROSS THE COMPANY, ACROSS ALL FUNCTIONS. MEANING THAT PARENTAL LEAVE AND SABBATICAL POLICIES AND PAY FAMILY SICKLY AND BEREAVEMENT ARE THE SAME FOR CORPORATE EMPLOYEES HAVE THE HARPER WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEES. EMILY: YOU SAID YOU WERE NOT DOING THIS AND THAT WAS A MISTAKE. WHY? BECAUSE IT WAS ALWAYS DONE THAT WAY, CHEAPER? JENNIFER: WHEN YOU FOUND A BUSINESS, YOU REALLY TAKE YOUR CUES ON CORPORATE CULTURE ON ALREADY SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES. I JUST LOOKED TO WHAT COMPANIES THAT I ADMIRE WERE DOING. THEY WERE DOING INCREDIBLE GENEROUS THINGS FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES AND CORPORATE. THEY HAD VERY STANDARDIZED, MORE SKIMPY POLICIES IN THEIR WAREHOUSE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAMS. I JUST FOLLOWED SUIT. IT REALLY TOOK ME THE CONSIDERATION OF NOW HAVING A TEAM OF 1200 PLUS PEOPLE WITH A COMPANY THAT IS DOING EXTREMELY WELL. UNDERSTANDING THAT I AM IN THE POSITION I AM IN BECAUSE OF MY ENTIRE TEAM, NOT JUST MY CORPORATE TEAM. WHY IS IT THAT MY PREGNANCY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SOMEONE ON MY SEAMSTRESS TEAM? IT IS ACTUALLY NOT. A LIFE EVENT IS AS IMPORTANT FOR ANY PERSON IN MY COMPANY. EMILY: THIS IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE, ISN ' T IT? HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT EXPENSE? JENNIFER: FIRST OF ALL, WHILE IT MIGHT BE AN EXPENSIVE UPFRONT COST, I DO THINK IT WILL ALL COME OUT IN THE WASH IN TERMS OF HIGHER RETENTION RATE, HAVING MORE PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES. THE COST OF BRINGING IN AND TRAINING NEW EMPLOYEES IS EXTREMELY HIGH. AND THE LOYALTY ALL THE EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE AT RENT THE RUNWAY. WHAT WAS REMARKABLE ABOUT THE CHANGES HIS WE DID NOT CHANGE THAT MUCH AS RELATED TO CORPORATE EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OUR BENEFITS WERE ALREADY REALLY GENEROUS FOR THAT POPULATION. WE JUST EQUALIZED THE BENEFITS AND THE PEOPLE THAT AT THE MOST POSITIVE REACTION TO IT WERE OUR CORPORATE EMPLOYEES, BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO WORK AT COMPANIES THAT EXEMPLIFY THEIR VALUES. 70% OF MILLENNIAL ' S, THE MAJORITY OF THE LABOR FORCE RIGHT NOW, SAY THEY WILL NOT WORK AT A COMPANY A LESS THAN EXAMPLE VIS A VALUE SET THEY HAVE. THIS VALUE SET OF TREATING EVERYONE WITH RESPECT AND EQUALLY IS SOMETHING THAT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION. EMILY: LET ' S TALK ABOUT SOME OTHER COMPANIES WITH THESE TWO-TIERED WORKFORCES LIKE AMAZON OR STARBUCKS. HOW DOES WHAT YOU ARE DOING COMPARED TO THEM? JENNIFER: IT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEM. AS AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A POLICY THAT IS FOUR WEEKS OF BEREAVEMENT LEAVE. NOW THAT FOR WEEKS IS FOR ANYONE ON THE TEAM THAT IS GRIEVING FOR A FAMILY MEMBER. THAT IS A REALLY GENEROUS BENEFIT THAT SHERYL SANDBERG PUT IN PLACE AT FACEBOOK AND LOTS OF OTHER COMPANIES FOLLOWED SUIT AFTER SHE DID THAT, BUT THEY DID THAT FOR THEIR CORPORATE TEAM. WHY IS IT A DEATH IN THE FAMILY IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR SOME OF THE WORKS IN CORPORATE? IT IS JUST NOT. THE THING THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME WAS THINKING THROUGH THE OPPORTUNITY TO A RRIVE IN A CORPORATE JOB. WHAT HAS GIVINGEN ME THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING A FOUNDER AND CEO? YES, I WORK HARD BUT I ALSO GREW UP ON THE RIGHT BLOCK WITH THE RIGHT PARENTS. AL LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WORK ON MY OPERATIONS TEAM, IN MY CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM DID NOT HAVE THE SAME EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND CERTAINLY DID NOT HAVE THE SAME CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. THEY WORK JUST AS HARD AS I HAVE. EMILY: WHAT IS THE CALL TO ACTION HERE? WHAT SHOULD COMPANIES LIKE AMAZON, LIKE STARBUCKS BE DOING? JENNIFER: I THINK IF SOMEONE WORKS FOR YOUR COMPANY, WHETHER THEY ARE SALARIED OR HOURLY, THEY SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY. YOU SHOULD DO WHATEVER IS FINANCIALLY VIABLE WITHIN YOUR COMPANY AND STAGE. I ' M NOT MAKING THE CLAIM THAT RENT THE RUNWAY ' S BENEFITS ARE THE MOST GENEROUS OUT THERE BECAUSE WE ARE STILL GROWING. WE ARE NOT A COMPANY THE SIZE OF AMAZON, BUT I AM MAKING THE PROMISE THAT EVERYONE IS EQUAL AND AS RENT THE RUNWAY CONTINUES TO GROW, I WILL CONTINUE TO DELIVER MORE AND MORE VALUES TO MY EMPLOYEES. EMILY: WHILE I HAVE YOU HERE, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT DIVERSITY. WE HAVE THE BLOOMBERG BUSINESS OF EQUALITY SUMMIT GOING ON AT HEADQUARTERS TODAY. WE TALK A LOT ABOUT COMPANIES THAT ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO CHANGE IT. THE NUMBERS ARE MOVING. RENT THE RUNWAY IS A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN DIVERSE ALMOST SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. I DON ' T KNOW, YOU TELL ME WHY. IS IT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A FEMALE CEO? IS IT BECAUSE YOU WERE ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE WOMEN ON THE EXECUTIVE TEAM? GIVE ME YOUR PROGRESS REPORT AND OTHERS CAN LEARN FROM IT. JENNIFER: WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DIVERSE, BOTH IN TERMS OF GENDER BUT ALSO MINORITY AND BACKGROUND FROM THE BEGINNING OF RENT THE RUNWAY. WE ARE A TEAM THAT HAS BEEN 70% FEMALE SINCE THE BEGINNING. I THINK NO ONE EVER WANTS TO BE THE MINORITY. IF -- BECAUSE WE STARTED OFF WITH A DIVERSE TEAM, IT IS EASIER FOR ME TO BE A DIVERSE TEAM TODAY AND TO ATTRACT MINORITIES, ATTRACT WOMEN BECAUSE THEY SEE THAT THOSE WOMEN AND THOSE MINORITIES ARE LEADERS AT EVERY LEVEL OF THE COMPANY. ANOTHER PROBLEM THAT COMPANIES HAVE IS IF YOU HAVE AN UPPER ECHELON OF MANAGEMENT THAT IS ALL WHITE MEN, AND YOU SAY YOU HAVE DIVERSITY ON YOUR TEAM, THERE IS NO ONE I CAN LOOK TO WHO IS LIKE ME. THEREFORE, WHY DO I WANT TO SYMBOLIZE WHAT ALL WOMEN THINK? YOU NEVER WANT TO BE THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM OR ONLY PERSON OF COLOR IN THE ROOM AND YOU HAVE TO EXPRESS THE OPINIONS OF AN ENTIRE RACE OR GENDER. EMILY: WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG FOR A COMPANY LIKE AMAZON -- WOMEN DRIVE 70%, 80% OF CONSUMER PURCHASES. TAKING SO LONG FOR AEVEN MORE AMMUNITION. WHY DOES IN A COMPANY LIKE AMAZON CHANGE TO REPRESENT ITS CUSTOMER BASE? JENNIFER: I THINK IT IS COMPLETE BS THAT COMPANIES ARE NOT 50% FEMALE. IT IS BECAUSE OF A LACK OF VALUE. YOU SHOWCASE YOUR VALUE BY NATURE OF WHO YOU HIRE AND WHO YOU PROMOTE AND WHO YOU LET GO FROM YOUR ORGANIZATION. CULTURES PERSIST OF BECAUSE OF THE CEO AND THE DECISIONS THE CEO MAKES. IT IS OFTEN MORE IMPORTANT WHO YOU CHOOSE TO PROMOTE AND LET GO OF YOUR ORGANIZATION THAN WHO YOU CHOOSE TO INITIALLY HIRE. IF YOU ARE NOT HIRING WHEN IT, INTERVIEWING WOMEN IT TELLS SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR VALUE SET. IN THE SAME WAY IF YOU ARE TREATING YOUR CORPORATE, MORE EDUCATED, WHITER EMPLOYEES BETTER WITH BETTER PERKS THAN YOUR LESS EDUCATED AND MORE DIVERSE WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEES, THAT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE VALUES YOU HOLD DEAR. I THINK WE NEED TO QUESTION WHAT ARE THOSE VALUES? DON ' T CLAIM TO BE PROGRESSIVE AND IF YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY WALKING THE WALK. EMILY: JENNIFER HYMAN, CEO OF RENT THE RUNWAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

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Rent the Runway CEO Pushes Fair Treatment for All

Jennifer Hyman, chief executive officer of Rent the Runway, discusses the gender disparity in tech, saying companies have no excuse for not hiring more women. She speaks with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on "Bloomberg Technology." (Source: Bloomberg)

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