INTERNATIONAL. The Estée Lauder Companies has launched the ‘Opening Doors: Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality’ programme to celebrate International Women’s Day (8 March) and Women’s History Month.
Under the programme, the beauty giant has joined the United Nations Foundation’s Five for 5 Initiative and committed to implementing a set of diversity and inclusion goals over the next five years. These commitments are aligned with UN Sustainability Development Goal 5, which aims to achieve gender equality for all.
Under the new gender equality roadmap, The Estée Lauder Companies has pledged to
- Achieve gender pay equity by 2023
- Increase representation of women from underrepresented groups in all regions
- Achieve epresentation parity for African-American women at all levels in the US by 2025
- Expand business-based flexibility for employees
- Achieve gender parity within Board of Directors by 2025
- Reach gender parity for women in senior leadership positions worldwide by 2025
- Expand women’s leadership development programmes
- Minimise bias and foster a company culture of inclusion and advocacy
- Support, encourage and engage all women at ELC through the global expansion of the Women’s Leadership Network (WLN)
- Continue to support breast cancer research through the Estée Lauder Breast Cancer Foundation
- Launch and expand philanthropic partnerships in health and education
- Advocate for equal opportunities beyond ELC through partnerships that support women and girls
“When Mrs. Estée Lauder placed her name on a jar of her signature cream 75 years ago, she challenged the status quo and built a company based on the principles of equality and women’s advancement,” commented The Estée Lauder Companies Vice Chairman Sara Moss. “Today, we are still making history. At The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), we now see a workforce of 84% women with over 50% of women at leadership levels. Almost half of our Board of Directors are women. We see incredible women across our organisation at every level, leading from every chair.
“As a company, we believe gaps should be closed. We believe all genders should have equal access to job opportunities and positions of leadership, including access to the tools and support to help them achieve their goals. We believe that all people deserve equal access to health, education and economic participation. Our aim is to help women and girls worldwide acquire the necessary life and leadership skills to become healthy and productive adults who can effect lasting change and break the cycle of poverty.”
The Estée Lauder Companies has also established a new Equity and Engagement Centre of Excellence (COE), to further underscore its commitment to gender equality and diversity. The COE will be led by Nicole Monson who has been named Senior Vice President, Equity and Engagement.
The COE will build on ELC’s existing Commitment to Act on Racial Equity. It will use a holistic approach to advance the company’s diverse talent pool through deeper engagement, career and development programmes.
The Estée Lauder Companies President and Chief Executive Officer Fabrizio Freda added, “Our collective vision is to be the most inclusive, equitable and diverse global prestige beauty company for our employees and consumers alike. This important new capability will enhance employee engagement and build greater equity across the business today, while also providing a strategic platform to expand and scale this work into the future.
“We know that authentic change takes time, dedication and a clear strategy, and we will continue to devote focused and meaningful resources toward accelerating this goal,” Freda added.
In addition, The Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland has pledged £250,000 to two organisations dedicated to helping disadvantaged young women through work, education and training programmes.
£150,000 of the funds will be allocated to Young Women’s Trust over a three year period to support the charity’s ‘Work It Out’ programme. The remaining £100,000 will go towards The Prince’s Trust ‘Women Supporting Women’ programme.
The Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland Senior Vice President/General Manager Sue Fox commented “We’re proud to support girls’ and women’s advancement, both within our business and in our local communities. This work is in our DNA, and together with our partners we’re striving to create a more inclusive world, one that fosters a culture of belonging and equity for all.”