New Study Shows Beauty Brands Are Diminishing Representation Efforts

COVID-19 and social injustices are sending community tensions through the roof.  As the result, this year, the beauty industry has gone through a lots of changes. With sales already in decline and voices demanding to be heard, during the summer, as uprisings took over the country following the killing of George Floyd, insiders started calling out deep-rooted problems rampant in both the beauty and fashion industry. They did so demanding better representation, both internally in board rooms and externally in campaigns and truly inclusive product launches.

Uoma Beauty founder, Sharon Chuter, was one of those that started to call brands out, holding them accountable for the lack of diversity in their companies. She launched the #PullUpOrShutUp challenge back in June, a movement that challenged brands to share the percentage of POC employees, particularly Black, they had in leadership. A lot of companies (including Glossier, Ulta Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, and more) released their numbers. Most were (maybe not so) shockingly low. Back then, some brands took accountability and started incorporating more Black content creators on their pages in an attempt to appear more diverse. The sense of unity movements like the #PullUpOrShutUp or Aurora James's 15 Percent Pledge helped kickstart felt nice at the moment. But representation and inclusivity aren't things to be taken lightly. And they are certainly not something that should be done just for clout. Diversity and representation should be long term, they should be infused in any brand’s identity. So, what's left of those efforts that started in June now? As noted by Fast Company, according to a new study by Eyecue Insights, not so much. Read the rest of article @Allure.com.