Diversity, equity and inclusion: creating the beauty that moves the world

Through products developed for all forms of beauty, L’Oréal is committed to creating the beauty that moves the world while applying and promoting the principles at the heart of its Purpose.

L’Oréal’s 20-year commitment to diversity

L’Oréal applies and promotes the values inherent in its Purpose—diversity, equity and inclusion—wherever it operates, and always in compliance with local legislation.

The Group set up an Advisory Board on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2021, comprising twelve outside experts and six L’Oréal senior executives. The board met three times during the year. Co-chaired by Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal, and Margaret Johnston-Clarke, Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, it aims to enrich the Group’s strategy and action plan to continue moving forward on these issues. L'Oréal also created specific committees in the UK, Ireland and North America subsidiaries.

A new initiative to promote inclusion was launched in 2021: the first Beauty of Inclusion Awards. The competition, open to all employees worldwide, recognises and celebrates the most noteworthy initiatives supporting employees, consumers or communities. These initiatives cover all four aspects of the Group’s Diversity, Equity and inclusion programme: gender and LGBTQIA+, disability, socio-economic and multicultural origins, age and generations.

L’Oréal’s engagement on these topics received further recognition in 2021, with the Group featured in the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Top 100 and listed fourth in the Equileap Global Gender Equality ranking.

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Combatting gender-based violence

L’Oréal has a long-standing commitment to preventing all forms of violence, especially intimate partner violence towards women and people of all genders. In 2021, the Group continued efforts to combat violence against women with the global rollout of its #StOpE initiative, co-founded by EY, Accor and L'Oréal in France two years ago. The campaign promotes best practices to identify and combat everyday sexism in the workplace and is now backed by 114 companies around the world. L’Oréal pursues similar actions within the One in Three Women collective. The Group also rolled out its Human Relations policy on intimate partner violence in 2021 as part of its social innovation programme, Share & Care. This policy follows on from discussions with the International Labour Organization and the adoption of the first international convention on violence and harassment in the workplace.

Brands mobilised for the empowerment of women

These commitments are reflected in the causes supported by the brands. Yves Saint Laurent, for example, unveiled its Abuse is not Love commitment to help prevent domestic violence, in line with the Group’s Human Relations policy on intimate partner violence. At the World Expo in Dubai, L’Oréal Paris organised a mass training session derived from its Stand Up Against Street Harassment programme. In partnership with the NGO Hollaback!, the initiative aims to train a million people before the end of 2022. To celebrate this ambition, the Burj Khalifa—the tallest building in the world—was lit up on 28 September to send out a message to the world about women empowerment.