Rent the Runway Is Giving $1 Million in Monthly Subscriptions to Women Celebrating Career Wins on LinkedIn
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With more women in the workforce than ever, Jennifer Hyman, founder and chief executive officer of Rent the Runway, wants to know why women are still so hesitant to boast about their professional accolades. And to get the ball rolling in the right direction, she’s made an official call to action on LinkedIn for women to start shouting out their professional achievements and lifting up those who do.
When Hyman, welcomed her third child last month she says she had a powerful realization that the attention and congratulations she receives for growing her family has far outweighed the celebration of her career. Comparing the moment when she took her company public in 2021, Hyman said that while she’s grateful for the love she feels from her community she can’t help but question why women are often championed more for personal milestones over professional achievements.
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Celebrating self-confident, ambitious women, she said, has always been deeply ingrained in Rent the Runway’s mission believing that its “limitless closet is a tool to power limitless lives.”
“In 2009 when I launched Rent the Runway, I was a part of a new guard of female founders getting funded and building their own disruptive companies,” Hyman said. “It felt like a revolution then but now over a decade later, little has changed when it comes to women holding senior positions in the world of work.”
Notably, Hyman said she recognizes that women often feel more comfortable self-promoting their engagements, weddings and births of children than they do sharing a promotion at work or a launch they’re proud of.
“The reason why this matters is that reaching the upper echelons of the work world is based less on your résumé and more on people who believe in you and are willing to publicly take a bet on you,” Hyman said. “The bigger the community of people who are propping you up and promoting your achievements, the higher the likelihood of career success. Men seem to have no worries about self-promotion in the workplace, and women should feel empowered to do the same without any sense of shame or hesitation.”
Through an initiative on LinkedIn, Rent the Runway is encouraging users to tag deserving women for recognition by offering a free month of Rent the Runway’s services. Both men and women are encouraged to create posts on LinkedIn nominating women for recognition using the hashtag #RTRShowOff. Rent the Runway’s team will actively search for the hashtag on LinkedIn and reward women who formally announce a new promotion or career accolade with a complimentary month. With the initiative, the company aims to make women proudly “showing off” their accomplishments and amplifying their voices in the workplace a norm.
In total, Rent the Runway has committed to giving away $1 million in free subscriptions and shining a light on them on LinkedIn to provide crucial visibility for professional growth and advancement in any field. Additionally, Rent the Runway will donate $1 million in gross merchandise value to Dress for Success to help women get dressed for interview opportunities.
“This commitment is deeply meaningful to me,” Hyman said. “Rent the Runway is the working woman’s weapon and providing women with a platform and the encouragement to highlight their achievements in the workplace is so important. This initiative aligns perfectly with Rent the Runway’s ethos of empowering women to express themselves confidently and affordably in their professional lives.”
This campaign, she said, isn’t just about celebrating individual achievements but about the bigger task of “taking back the thing women are often criticized for as children [showing off]” and turning it on its head.
“If we don’t promote ourselves, no one will do it for us,” Hyman said. “By highlighting the successes of women and providing them with the resources and encouragement they need to thrive, we’re not only amplifying their voices but also paving the way for future generations of women leaders.”
According to Hyman, this initiative is just the beginning of Rent the Runway’s efforts to celebrate and uplift women in their careers. The company has several campaigns and initiatives to follow International Women’s Month later this year. “We hope that this campaign sparks a cultural shift, encouraging women to celebrate themselves and their friends and co-workers unapologetically, both on our platform and in their professional lives, without hesitation or reservation,” Hyman said.
“Rent the Runway has always been a champion for women, providing them with the tools to navigate their professional and personal lives with the confidence that comes from freedom of self-expression,” Hyman said. “Changing your clothes can change how you feel about yourself. Whether it’s a pivotal career moment or an everyday triumph, Rent the Runway is there to support women at every turn. This campaign underscores commitment to empowering women through every phase of their careers, ensuring they feel confident every step of the way.”
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