How did the business case for gender balance DE&I evolved over the last 18 months?
Renata Dourado: The advances we made were possible thanks to the strong commitment of our leadership and the acceleration of the Diversity and Inclusion theme throughout the Company. In recent years, with an area and management dedicated to the topic, we have invested in inclusive processes and gender equality in Recruitment, Development, Retention and Succession. For example, some of our goals here are to ensure that women are sought after in key trainings, mentoring opportunities and in succession plans for key positions. Today, gender equity is already a reality at L’Oréal Brazil – and the EDGE Lead certificate attests this.
EDGE Certification brings visibility and credibility to the change happening inside the organization. At the same time, it creates the premises for diverse talent to thrive at work. Tell us some stories about how your employees benefit from the EDGE Certification journey of your organization.
Renata Dourado: Without a doubt, the steps we took to promote gender equity helped us to promote a more innovative and diverse environment. And this is reflected in our teams. In 2020, for example, women represented 53% of leadership positions and 64% of the workforce in Brazil. With this efforts, it was possible to achieve equity even in areas that are predominantly male in the market, such as Finance, Operations and Research & Innovation. In addition, another interesting indicator is about the sense of belonging and acceptance of our employees. In our internal climate survey, 94% of our employees say they are proud to work at L’Oréal, and 93% affirm they are treated fairly, regardless of their age, marital status, gender, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation. .
What do you think workplace gender balance, diversity and inclusion means to the next generation ?
Renata Dourado: We are very proud of this achievement, as it recognizes our commitment to promoting gender equality in the workplace with effective policies and practices. We want to show the market and our stakeholders that, more than possible, it is necessary to invest in plurality to be innovative. It is this diversity that makes us closer to our consumers. There is no other way for us to advance as a society without transforming organizations into inclusive cultures.
What’s the place of gender balance, diversity and inclusion in your broader sustainability agenda?
Renata Dourado: L’Oréal’s sustainable development is a long-standing commitment. As the world leader in beauty, we know that everything we do has the potential to have a significant impact. At L’Oréal, our purpose is to create the beauty that moves the world, and our business is driven by the diversity of beauties of our consumers. Therefore, diversity and inclusion are in our DNA and are strategic for our sustainable growth.
We have a very clear global strategy for diversity, focused on three priorities: the first, oriented towards people, seeking the best talent and creating an inclusive environment for employees; the second, focused on the consumer, so that this diversity is present in our product portfolio and in our communications; and the third, social, supporting causes and communities. This last point is directly related to sustainability, which is also a strategic priority for the Company. L’Oréal Brazil is a reference in social protagonism for the Group, with innovative projects for women’s empowerment and social inclusion of vulnerable communities and indigenous.
What are your personal commitments to advance gender balance, diversity and inclusion inside and outside your organization?
Renata Dourado: We are talking about an issue of cultural transformation. Therefore, challenging. It is necessary to unite everyone towards the same goal, which requires the constant breaking of paradigms, stereotypes and unconscious biases. Our goal is to build a truly diverse and equal opportunity organization – and society – by ensuring that everyone is committed to promoting a more inclusive work environment and world. It is necessary, for example, to promote powerful and difficult conversations between leaders. The themes are sensitive and complex, but talking about them helps to deconstruct taboos and encourages the creation of solutions together. We also need to build a clear vision to be shared by the entire organization and invest time, resources and energy into the topic, working towards clear goals and objectives.
What do you consider the most important business benefit of your organization being EDGE Certified?
Renata Dourado: Diversity generates real competitive advantages. It is proven that a diverse company has better economic results. A corporate environment where professionals have the same education, for example, does not create space for innovation. With a diverse team, we are able to create innovative processes and products. Inclusion is a powerful performance handle. And the EDGE Lead certification shows the market, our stakeholders and consumers that we are leaders in gender equality in the corporate environment. At L’Oréal, we invite our employees to draw inspiration from one another, blending ideas and transforming existing standards to create the Beauty of the future that is more diverse and inclusive.
