10.12.22
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.
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 its company across its business partners and in the communities it serves.
“Mary Kay has operated with an intention to challenge the status quo since its inception, opening doors for women and diverse groups since 1963,” said Julia A. Simon, chief legal and chief diversity & inclusion officer at Mary Kay. “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.”
DEI: A Driving Force
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, the company is committed to advancing diversity and ensuring everyone has a voice, it said. Present in nearly 40 markets, DEI is a key driving force in the company’s operation. Over the years, it has have taken concerted measures to integrate DEI as a core strategy to its business growth. Mary Kay also says it also fosters an environment where individuals can express and share different thoughts, experiences and perspectives ensuring they feel seen, heard and respected.
The company’s 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, Mary Kay, Inc. says it continuously works toward realizing a more inclusive, diverse and equitable culture in its company and communities, seeking to reimagine the following areas: Employee Training & Engagement; Diverse Product Portfolio; Supplier Diversity & Inclusive Procurement; Social Risks in the Supply Chain; and Women’s Representation and Leadership.
To date, 62% of the global workforce are women; 54% of the executive team are women; 38% are BIPOC; 53% of vice presidents and above are women; 57% of directors and above are women; 59% of managers and above are women; 70% of market leaders are women; 60% of the leadership positions in its Top 10 markets are held by women.
Per US-only supply chain data from February 2021, 66% of the company’s Procurement Team are women; 12% of its Indirect Suppliers are women, minority or veteran-owned; and 5% of its direct suppliers are women, minority or veteran-owned.
With respect to employee retention, 41% of global Mary Kay employees have been with the company for over 10 years and 47% of US Mary Kay employees have been with the company for over 10 years.
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.
Bridging the Gender Digital Divide
Through its external partnerships and collaborations, Mary Kay is 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.
External partnerships include 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; and supporting gender-responsive procurement.
Mary Kay is expanding its 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, Mary Kay is 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, the company is advancing social and gender responsive entrepreneurship and contributing to localizing the sustainable development goals through rural women’s entrepreneurship in developing contexts in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.
Through its partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s National Racial Equity Initiative for Social Justice, Mary Kay is supporting racial equity and human rights through research and public policy in the context of criminal justice reform. To address barriers to educational opportunity, the company annually partners with the Society of Cosmetic Chemists in support of under-represented minority students pursuing higher education in STEM through its Madam C.J. Walker scholarships.
Recognizing the disproportionate impact of violence on women and girls, the company is responding to the scourge of gender-based violence in conflicts and disaster settings through its global partnerships with CARE and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The company is 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.
The company is 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.