Striving for Inclusion

Committed to inclusion for our associates and communities

At Milliken, we believe that creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is both the right thing to do and a critical contributor to our business success. We define diversity as welcoming all people and inclusion as valuing and embracing their differences and perspectives. Speaking at the Out & Equal Southern States Forum, CEO Halsey Cook stated, “wherever you’re from, whatever race or ethnicity you are, however you identify, whoever your partner is, we want you to be able to come and find home at Milliken.”

One of our 2025 Sustainability People Goals is to create a more inclusive associate community, using the same continuous improvement skills that have been so vital to Milliken’s legacy and reputation in manufacturing excellence. We realize our commitment to building and maintaining a diverse an inclusive culture is a long-term opportunity and commitment. While our Sustainability Scorecard reports on U.S. diversity (measured by gender and race) in managers (representing exempt associates), our diversity and inclusion strategy is a commitment broader than this single metric. Our strategy reflects our commitment to the CEO Action Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion and includes training, inclusive policies and procedures, recruitment, retention, associate commitment and engagement. Our strategy also includes a commitment to advance our ability to have complex diversity and inclusion discussions in a trusting workplace. Our strategy is a commitment to our associates and to our communities. In our communities, we engage by training, sponsoring, giving our time and sharing our best practices. We know that inclusion enables our positive business results, attracts and retains talent, and positively impacts our communities. 

In 2021, we:

• Launched Minority Men’s Council to drive engagement and advancement and to reduce turnover.
• Expanded our Associate Affinity Networks to include wellness, with a focus on mental health, particularly during these challenging and unprecedented times.
• The Milliken Pride Affinity Network held courageous conversation on topics such as religion and LGBTQ+ Inclusion;
• Expanded allyship training internally and continued to train on allyship in our communities.
• Ambassador Tai visited Milliken to participate in a roundtable on women in textiles.