ascena retail group Celebrates International Women's Day

Today, ascena retail group, inc. ASNA celebrates International Women's Day by hosting events across their brands and in their communities, both locally and globally.

"We serve women and girls, and International Women's Day is an important way for us to reflect on the economic, cultural and political achievements of women," said Gary Muto, President and Chief Executive Officer of ascena Brands. "Across each of our campuses, our focus is on giving back and celebrating the women who take bold action to lead positive and transformative change."

Across their US home office locations (New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio), ascena brands and brand service associates are participating in events and providing donations to women-based organizations. Additionally, the company is highlighting some of their philanthropic efforts designed to support women who are making a difference (www.jaffeawards.com, www.HERlead.com).

"Our heritage is deeply rooted in the support and service of women. I'm proud of our accomplishments and commitments including the gender diversity of our Board of Directors as well as the 63% female associates we have in leadership roles," said David Jaffe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the ascena Retail Group.

ascena's commitment extends globally as well. In 2014, the Ann Taylor, LOFT and Lou & Grey brands collaborated with Business for Social Responsibility and its HERproject to impact 100,000 women in their global supply chain by providing health and financial literacy training. "We are so proud to have both met and exceeded our goal, and are now celebrating the over 100,000 women across 6 countries who have been empowered through this partnership," said Jeannette Ferran Astorga, VP of ascena Corporate Responsibility. As a result, over 76% of these brands' apparel have been sourced through manufacturing facilities that have received training in HERproject curriculum.

The impact of the 100,000 Women Commitment, extends into our policies and business practices. Earlier this week ascena released its new Code of Conduct for Merchandise Suppliers. Through the learnings of this project, and aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 5, we found ways to advance our code through a gender lens, ensuring that the specific challenges and obstacles that women workers face are incorporated into our expectations of suppliers. ascena is committed to working with its Suppliers to empower women workers, enabling them to thrive in the workplace and reach their full potential.

"We have learned a lot from these inspiring women. They drive enormous positive change by sharing their knowledge and skills with others that produces a ripple effect of progressive change in the global communities where our products are manufactured," Ms. Ferran Astorga commented.

To learn more about the 100K Women and view our latest video, please visit the site http://responsiblyann.com/women/.

About ascena retail group, inc. ascena retail group, inc. ASNA is a leading national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes, and accessories for women under the Premium Fashion segment (Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey), Value Fashion segment (maurices and dressbarn), Plus Fashion segment (Lane Bryant, Catherines and Cacique), and for tween girls under the Kids Fashion segment (Justice). ascena retail group, inc. operates ecommerce websites and approximately 4,700 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

For more information about ascena retail group, inc. visit: ascenaretail.com, AnnTaylor.com, LOFT.com, louandgrey.com, maurices.com, dressbarn.com, lanebryant.com, Catherines.com, and shopjustice.com.

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