Mary Kay Inc., a long-standing champion and global advocate for women’s empowerment and gender equality, has released a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statement celebrating Global Diversity Awareness Month and hosted a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit in conjunction with World Inclusion Day.
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Julia A. Simon, Chief Legal and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Mary Kay (Photo: Mary Kay Inc.)
Through these efforts, Mary Kay is holding itself accountable to its DEI commitments which are centered around three fundamental concepts: understanding through Knowledge, demanding Action, and ensuring sustainable transformative Change within our company, across our business partners and in the communities we serve.
“Mary Kay has operated with an intention to challenge the status quo since its inception, opening doors for women and diverse groups since 1963. We believe the private sector has a fundamental role to play in bringing about social change. Through our corporate actions, we are committed to advancing diversity and ensuring inclusivity in our company. We recognize the fight for equality stretches beyond our walls which is why we champion efforts in communities we touch around the globe,” said Julia A. Simon, Chief Legal and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Mary Kay.
Company Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Our Position
As a global company, we believe our diversity is a strength which fosters innovation and growth. We strive to lead by our founding values and purpose, celebrating diversity, and cultivating an inclusive workplace and society for nearly 60 years.
Founded by a woman who defied her era’s gender norms and broke barriers at a time when barely a third of American women were in the workforce, DEI is at the heart of Mary Kay’s mission to advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality.
Internally, we are committed to advancing diversity and ensuring everyone has a voice in our company. Present in nearly 40 markets, we believe DEI is key to how we operate, and over the years, we have taken concerted measures to integrate DEI as a core strategy to our business growth. We seek to create an environment where individuals can express and share different thoughts, experiences and perspectives ensuring they feel seen, heard, and respected.
Our 10-year Sustainability Strategy, Enriching Lives Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow, pursues a holistic approach to DEI and is centered around three fundamental concepts: Knowledge, Action, and Change.
Through concrete steps and partnerships, we are continuously working toward realizing a more inclusive, diverse and equitable culture in our company and in our communities. We are committed to supporting DEI efforts and reaching our goal to understanding through knowledge, demanding action, and ensuring sustainable long-lasting change through the following internal focus areas:
Advancing DEI at Mary Kay
Employee Training & Engagement
Diverse Product Portfolio
Supplier Diversity & Inclusive Procurement
Social Risks in the Supply Chain
Women’s Representation and Leadership
Leading by example and reflecting our belief in the value of increased women’s representation and leadership in the workplace, Mary Kay is putting our values and commitments into action:
(Data from August 2022)
62% Global Workforce are Women
54% Executive Team are Women; 38% are BIPOC
53% Vice Presidents and above are Women
57% Directors and above are Women
59% Managers and above are Women
70% Market Leaders are Women
60% of the leadership positions in our Top 10 Markets are held by Women
Gender-Responsive Procurement & Supplier Diversity
(U.S. only supply chain data from February 2021)
66% of our Procurement Team are Women
12% of our Indirect Suppliers are Women, Minority or Veteran-Owned
5% of our Direct Suppliers are Women, Minority or Veteran-Owned
Employee Retention
41% of Global Mary Kay employees have been with the company for over 10 years
47% of U.S. Mary Kay employees have been with the company for over 10 years
Alignment with Global Standards
In 2019, Mary Kay signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles and in 2021 the company became a Commitment Maker to the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalitions to accelerate progress on gender equality to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Recognizing the need to keep moving forward, Mary Kay is participating in the 2022-2023 UN Global Compact Target Gender Equality Accelerator Programme to continue the implementation of ambitious corporate targets for women’s representation and leadership in the company and in our supply chain.
Addressing Gender and Racial Disparities
We know the fight for equality stretches beyond our walls which is why we support efforts in our communities to combat racial and gender disparities. Through our external partnerships and collaborations, we are committed to addressing racism and discrimination, and pursue an intersectional approach focused on dismantling the barriers to opportunities for women and girls from minority backgrounds.
Impact Support through our External Partnerships
Addressing gender-based violence
Strengthening women’s leadership and participation
Promoting equity in educational opportunities
Addressing bias in emerging technologies
Advancing entrepreneurial opportunities for women
Addressing the gender digital divide
Supporting gender-responsive procurement
We are expanding our partnerships to create an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs, including under-represented minority women, by strengthening gender-responsive procurement, and bridging the gender digital divide through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator. With the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s World Series of Innovation, we are supporting emerging young social entrepreneurs aged 13-24 to address a specific SDG or 21st century business challenge. Joining forces with the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge, we are advancing social and gender responsive entrepreneurship; and we are contributing to localizing the Sustainable Development Goals through rural women’s entrepreneurship in developing contexts in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.
Through our partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s National Racial Equity Initiative for Social Justice, we are supporting racial equity and human rights through research and public policy in the context of criminal justice reform. To address barriers to educational opportunity, we annually partner with the Society of Cosmetic Chemists in support of under-represented minority students pursuing higher education in STEM through their Madam C.J. Walker scholarships.
Recognizing the disproportionate impact of violence on women and girls, we are responding to the scourge of gender-based violence in conflicts and disaster settings through our global partnerships with CARE and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. We are also advancing women’s representation and leadership in public life and in climate action through our partnerships with the International Women’s Forum and The Nature Conservancy.
Finally, we are addressing potential gender bias in new technologies with the Equal Rights Trust and working to ensure that AI technology is designed to foster diversity and inclusion.
For Mary Kay, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are not just words – they are how we are able to deliver on our purpose to enrich women’s lives around the world. Through our corporate efforts to achieve our DEI commitments and by partnering with change-makers around the world to address gender and racial injustices, we are taking action and ensuring transformative change in our company, across our business partners and in the communities we serve.
ABOUT MARY KAY
One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her dream beauty company in 1963 with one goal: enriching women’s lives. That dream has blossomed into a multibillion-dollar company with millions of independent sales force members in nearly 40 countries. As an entrepreneurship development company, Mary Kay is committed to empowering women on their journey through education, mentorship, advocacy, networking, and innovation. Mary Kay is dedicated to investing in the science behind beauty and manufacturing cutting-edge skincare, color cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and fragrances. Mary Kay believes in enriching lives today for a sustainable tomorrow, partnering with organizations from around the world focusing on promoting business excellence, supporting cancer research, advancing gender equality, protecting survivors of domestic abuse, beautifying our communities, and encouraging children to follow their dreams. Learn more at marykayglobal.com, find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter.
Source: Cyprus News Agency