Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future

By Lisa Powers
EVP, Public Affairs & Communications

International Women’s Day celebrates women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements, giving us a look into how far women have come and acknowledging how much more needs to be done. Last week, after a six-year-long legal battle for equal pay, the World Cup and Olympic Gold Medal-winning U.S. women’s soccer team settled with the U.S. Soccer Federation. In a joint statement, U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) said: “Today we recognize the legacy of the past USWNT leaders who helped to make this day possible, as well as all of the women and girls who will follow. Today, we dedicate this moment to them.” This is a historic moment for female athletes as they continue to advocate for gender equity in sports.

I am fortunate to work for a dynamic industry with a history of strong women leaders and role models, from Madam C.J. Walker and Helena Rubinstein to Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder to the new generation of female founders emerging today. No industry has as many female success stories as the beauty and personal care industry. Women make up 77% of our industry’s workforce and hold more than half of management positions – significantly more than other industries. Women of color are leading voices and represent more management positions than the national average.

Our industry believes in supporting other women. We created the Look Good Feel Better Foundation to support women undergoing cancer treatment, helping more than 2 million women, and counting, reclaim a sense of control, confidence and self-esteem at a time when they feel most vulnerable. Many of our member companies have programs supporting women’s empowerment and leadership; promoting STEM education and careers for women; addressing domestic violence; supporting breast cancer awareness, detection and treatment; promoting self-esteem; and fighting racial bias. Our industry’s commitment to women and the world around them is strong. And we’re just getting started.

IWD2022

We know we’re not perfect, but our industry is wholeheartedly committed to creating a more inclusive and beautiful world. Our industry agrees that, in order to do so, we must challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements. When women stick together and support each other, we can accomplish great things. By learning from our predecessors and supporting our successors, equality can become reality.

Just look at the women’s soccer team.

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Black History Month: Working Toward a More Inclusive and Beautiful World

By Helene Pamon
Head of Personal Care, Sanofi &
Chair of PCPC’s DEI Advisory Group

Civil Rights activist Rev. Pauli Murray said, “True community is based on equality, mutuality and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together.” Rev. Murray is right; we must not just celebrate individual diversity but include everyone in every aspect of our society. This February is a good time to reflect on the beauty and personal care products industry’s work to make our companies and communities rise to this aspiration.

Certainly, the events over the last two years have sparked a much-needed examination of our role and responsibility in addressing society’s challenges around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and its member companies are keenly aware that consumers expect us to create, influence, educate and advocate for change. That begins with taking steps to ensure our own proverbial house is in order. Companies are working together to strengthen inclusiveness at the company and brand levels.                

PCPC also took a critical look at its approach to DEI and how the association might support member practice and programs. I am proud to have worked with PCPC over the last year to bring together a Board-appointed Advisory Group (AG) of member company representatives who play a critical role addressing DEI and advancing best practices in their respective organizations. The AG’s mission is to harness the collective impact of the beauty and personal care products industry to be an agent for change toward a more just and equitable society. We are laser focused on what we can achieve as the collective, how we measure success and if needed, to course correct along our journey.  

PCPC member companies also engage with stakeholders to advocate for constructive DEI policies at the federal, state and local levels. For example, we’ve worked with the CROWN Coalition to advance anti-discrimination legislation known as the CROWN Act, which prevents discrimination based on characteristics – such as hair texture and cultural styles, particularly those common in the Black community – and specifically recognizes that Black people are disparately impacted and excluded from some workplaces based on physical appearance.

Last year, PCPC also announced the first annual Madam C.J. Walker Award for Excellence in DEI. The award recognizes an individual in the beauty industry who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to DEI through strong leadership and sustained efforts with a focus on workplace culture, programs and policies, or through external engagement with consumers and communities. Latriece Watkins, executive vice president, Consumables, Walmart U.S. received this award named after one of our industry’s icons.

Beauty and personal care companies understand that we all play a critical role in shaping the future, and we are making progress. However, we know there’s so much more to do and we are wholeheartedly committed to doing our part to encourage a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and beautiful future. When everyone is included, everyone wins.

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Designing a Circular Future with Optimism

by Michelle Lee
Managing Director, IDEO

Over the last century, we’ve designed a culture of convenience: We process raw materials, use them for a finite amount of time and then dispose of them without much thought as to the waste we are creating. But now, there’s a growing consciousness around the impact this is having on our world, and we find ourselves amidst a pressing shift in both mindset and practice.

In my role at IDEO, a human-centered design firm known for work ranging from the first Apple mouse to a more equitable voting system in Los Angeles, I see this as an incredible opportunity for design and innovation – a chance to rethink and improve processes that have been in place for decades. As we spread this playful mindset across a breadth of industries, I am inspired by the steps I see organizations taking to actively contribute to a circular economy.

How the move toward a circular economy is taking shape

Our current economy is linear – materials are extracted from the earth, put into production, used and then discarded. Some are recycled, but the vast majority end up in landfills. The result is the accumulation of massive amounts of waste, which, at some point, Earth simply won’t be able to handle. A circular economy, on the other hand, bends this line to create a continuous circle with no end. Materials return to circulation after use so they never end up in landfills.

There are three primary ways manufacturers are approaching this challenge:

  • package elimination,
  • package reuse and/or
  • material circulation.

These circular design principles – eliminate, reuse, and circulate – can be applied at every stage of the value chain by asking thoughtful questions and pushing for innovative answers from every member of the team. For example:

  • How might we shift to bio-based or fully recyclable materials?
  • How might we increase resource recovery by designing products for disassembly?
  • How might we extend the life of a product through more durable engineering and design?
  • How might we reduce costs and increase efficiencies by eliminating packaging materials?
  • How might we begin to track product life cycles to inform smarter production?
  • How might we create new systems to return or reuse products and packaging?

We’re seeing creative solutions emerge in response to these questions, including in the beauty and personal care products industry. Rethinking shampoo delivery, Lush traded the traditional liquid form for a solid product: shampoo bars. This shift reduces both production and transportation costs; Lush estimates that since 2007, it has eliminated the need for 90 million plastic shampoo bottles.

Meanwhile, Bite recognized that, as a society, we discard an estimated 1 billion toothpaste tubes every year. With toothpaste bits, they eliminated the tube, shifting to a subscription model of solid bits that can be stored in a refillable glass jar.

These companies, and many others like them, are finding innovative ways to eliminate plastic packaging altogether. In the process, they’re generating incredible consumer engagement and loyalty, not only by aligning with a growing consumer consciousness, but also by tapping into new product forms and rituals that are delightful and engaging.

Every day, new examples arise of innovative companies trailblazing new processes in support of a circular economy. Ready to join us on this exciting and meaningful journey? Start by checking out the Circular Design Guide, a collaboration between the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and IDEO.

Together, we can transition from a linear to a circular economy and, in doing so, create a better, more equitable and beautiful future for the next generation.

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Michelle Lee is Managing Director of IDEO’s Play Lab, where she leads an integrated research, design and development team, using play to address complex challenges and create meaningful change across industries.

Case studies from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Upstream Innovation: A guide to packaging solutions.

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A New Year, A New Opportunity to Focus on What Matters Most

By Lezlee Westine
President & CEO, PCPC

As we reflect on the second year of the pandemic, I am reminded of the renewed energy and sense of purpose with which we welcomed 2021. While last year was not without its own challenges, I am proud that PCPC and our member companies remained steadfast in our commitment to the wellbeing of our employees, our consumers and our communities.

The pandemic forced us to change the way we do business and live our personal lives, but it also reinforced just how much science matters. Sound science is the foundation for everything that we do. We continued to work with policymakers and advocacy groups to modernize state and federal laws based on sound science and safety. This includes working with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to eliminate new cosmetics animal testing and promote the acceptance of non-animal approaches to cosmetics safety assessments with the reintroduction of the bipartisan Humane Cosmetics Act in the House and Senate. Together with Cruelty Free International (CFI), we also successfully advocated for the adoption of cosmetics animal testing legislation in several states.

We believe protecting people and the planet is an urgent responsibility, not a choice. PCPC’s sustainability program continues to expand with several new initiatives to reflect our commitment to a more inclusive society. PCPC supported federal and state anti-discrimination legislation as a member of the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Coalition and an active advocate for the CROWN Act. The CROWN Act prevents discrimination based on characteristics – such as hair texture and cultural styles, particularly those common in the Black community – and specifically recognizes that Black people are disparately impacted and excluded from some workplaces based on physical appearance. The Act is now law in 14 states and 40 local governments and was introduced in more than 25 others last year.

PCPC also proudly announced the first annual Madam C.J. Walker Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The award recognizes individuals in the beauty industry who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to DEI through strong leadership and sustained efforts with a focus on workplace culture, programs and policies, or through external engagement with consumers and communities. PCPC presented the inaugural award to Latriece Watkins, executive vice president, Consumables, Walmart U.S., in recognition of her dedication to advancing DEI.

While we recognize that we are not perfect, we are dedicated to working with others to achieve meaningful solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges, helping to shape a more beautiful, inclusive future. Each new year presents new opportunities to examine our priorities and focus on what matters most. Cosmetics and personal care products companies are working to be positive agents for change. This past year was no different.

As we greet 2022, there will undoubtedly be new challenges and uncertainties. But, as an innovative and committed industry, we have much to be proud of and strive for. Happy New Year to all.

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Grateful for “Normal”

By Keech Combe Shetty
Board Chair, Personal Care Products Council, and
Executive Chair, Combe, Inc.

It’s hard to believe we are in our second year of a pandemic. Millions of people have been directly affected by COVID-19 with too many lives tragically lost. Many of us have been unable to spend time in person with our family and friends, denying us valuable connections we all crave. Some of us have struggled through working from home while supporting our kids as they navigated online learning. Others have jobs that required them to continue to show up in person, creating a new set of challenges.  

As Thanksgiving approaches, it feels like the right time to embrace and be grateful for our new “normal,” for a brighter future. Many of us will finally be together again with our loved ones, instead of through a screen. While COVID is still with us, and we have a long way to go before we can move past this pandemic, we’ve come a long way and it feels good!

As an industry, we have much to be thankful for. We’re extremely grateful to the front-line workers, medical professionals, nonprofit and relief organizations that have continued to help those who have struggled over the past year. We’re grateful to all cosmetics and personal care product employees for their loyalty, dedication and hard work that has kept our companies running. And we are incredibly thankful to our valuable consumers for continuing to trust our products to safely enhance their wellbeing.

Author William Arthur Ward said, “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” We can all look for ways to be grateful in our daily lives. To find joy in ordinary routines.

On behalf of PCPC and our member companies, I thank you and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you can take some time to celebrate the common days in your life, thank those around you who made a difference over the past year and a half, and make plans for a happy and healthy holiday season ahead. I believe many good opportunities are in our future.

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The Time to Vote is Every Year

Lezlee Westine
President & CEO, Personal Care Products Council

Voting is the foundation of our democracy, and every person’s vote is vital to making our democracy work. New York Times bestselling author Sharon Salzberg said, “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.” I couldn’t agree more.

Voting, however, is not always easy. No one should have to choose between earning a paycheck and casting a ballot. Last year, leaders in the beauty and personal care products industry came together and pledged to provide employees scheduling flexibility and/or meaningful time off to vote in the November 2020 general election. Employees could also use the time to volunteer at the polls or other appropriate activities that strengthen a culture of civic engagement.

Together, we recognize the necessity of providing support for our employees so they may fulfill their civic duty. Our country thrives when everyone participates and so, by taking action, we know we can make a tangible difference.

While there are no national elections on the ballot this year, good habits are the product of repetition and consistency. State, county, city and local elections are just as important as national ones. Indeed, local leaders make many decisions that affect our daily lives.

Beauty and personal care companies thrive when employees are engaged citizens who actively participate in their communities. So many of our consumers care passionately about a variety of issues. Every time a consumer selects a particular product, they are casting a kind of vote. They want to support companies and brands that reflect their values and needs, whether economic or health priorities, social and cultural beliefs, or environmental principles.

As we approach another election season this fall, I urge all of us to find ways to flex our voting muscle, be actively engaged in our communities and support efforts to ensure broad civic engagement. We are all better off when we use our voices, cast our votes and ensure they are counted.

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Defy Cancer by Redefining Yourself

In 2017, Look Good Feel Better honored actress Krysta Rodriguez at its annual BeautyCares DreamBall, the beauty industry’s philanthropic event that honors industry leaders, legends, heroes, advocates and survivors in support of LGFB. Krysta’s public battle with breast cancer played out before our very eyes. She not only inspired us with her cancer-meets-high-fashion blog, she also played a television character undergoing cancer treatment onscreen while simultaneously undergoing similar treatment in her real life. Krysta’s unvarnished honesty is rivaled only by her infectious energy and passion for life. She has been a staunch advocate for the Look Good Feel Better program and the people it serves. Today, we are honored as she shares and reflects on her story and cancer journey and are grateful for her continued support:

Defy Cancer by Redefining Yourself

By Krysta Rodriguez
Actress and 2017 Look Good Feel Better “DreamGirl”

It’s hard to imagine that it has been almost seven years since my breast cancer diagnosis. It feels like a lifetime ago. And it feels like just yesterday.

Emotions came in waves. Fear. Anxiety. A deep sadness that I was somehow hurting others in my life because I had cancer. Like: I was making my parents suffer so much worrying about me!  Yes, cancer really does affect more than just your internal organs. It is a whole mind and body disease, and it affects those closest to you.

For someone like me, harboring childhood dreams of a life in the spotlight and blessed with the good fortune to see those dreams come true, a breast cancer diagnosis was not in the script. At just 30 years old, I was focused on doing the work that I love: singing, directing, acting – putting on makeup and costumes to take on different personas and personalities.

Cancer forced me to confront who Krysta really was.

Was I going to be the tough fighter who always gets back up off the mat? The fearless adventurer who’s not afraid of what lurks behind the next dark corner? The rebellious youth who swims furiously against the tide, defying all conventions and expectations?

Turns out, I was a little bit of all of them. 

Unlike most people, I lived my cancer journey in front of cameras, having been cast as a cancer patient going through chemotherapy for a TV series, while I was going through chemotherapy in real life. I’d be on set one day, connected to fake machines and wearing makeup to give me that chemo-pallor under the lights, only to be in my real chemo room the following day: no stage makeup required.

At the suggestion of my mom, I started a blog – ChemoCouture – smashing together my love of fashion and makeup with my reality. I wanted to inspire other young women like me, facing an unexpected and life-altering diagnosis, to be courageous, fearless and fabulous. I didn’t mask the hard stuff. Rather, I embraced the rebellious fighter within and shared my story with those who cared to listen.

Those followers became part of my inner circle. I soon learned the hidden truth about cancer: it is a solitary disease that makes you part of global a community. Every feeling, every experience, every emotion is at once your very own and shared by thousands of others just like you.  Knowing that you are not alone, that others have been through this and not only survived but emerged as stronger, more confident, more resilient individuals is inspiring.

That’s what’s so important about a program like Look Good Feel Better. Yes, the workshops and makeup tutorials are important. Learning how to rock a wig or a turban can instill instant confidence. But the community aspect of the program – the sharing of stories and experiences that only people who are on the cancer journey can understand – is more powerful still. 

People emerge from a Look Good Feel Better program with a glow. Not just because of the products they learned how to use, but because they have been embraced and welcomed into a powerful community.

Cancer tests you. It tests your will, your resolve, your stamina. It shifts your perspective. As a survivor, I can look back now and see past the negatives – the treatments, the surgeries, the side-effects – and embrace the positives. I have been redefined from the inside out.

Yes, I still harbor those same childhood dreams of acting and singing and directing. I relish every opportunity to share my art with others – despite the pandemic. Still, I am more than just the fighter, the adventurer or the rebel. I am Krysta, the survivor, the nurturer, the proud member of the cancer community.

If you know someone going through cancer, understand they are transforming as well. They are on a journey of self-discovery – defining who they will be once they are no longer a “cancer patient.” Be there for them. Support them. Love them. And if you think they might benefit from a Look Good Feel Better workshop, introduce them to this amazing program and the community it fosters.

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Let’s Dream Big Together

by Keech Combe Shetty
Executive Chair, Combe, Inc., and
Board Chair, Personal Care Products Council

As the third-generation leader of the business started by my grandparents, I feel a certain sense of duty and obligation to embrace and perpetuate their dream that inspired Combe more than 70 years ago. Because they approached our business as a family, I have never known a reality where the company, and the personal care products industry, was not deeply intertwined with my nuclear family.

As such, I hold the same hopes, dreams and aspirations for my company and our collective industry as I do for my own family: that we reach for our highest ambitions; that we treat one another with kindness, dignity and respect while achieving those aspirations; that we live and work for a purpose greater than ourselves.

That’s why Look Good Feel Better is so important to me. I know how challenging a cancer diagnosis can be for families, because I’ve lived through the experience alongside my lifelong best friend, Reshma. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, our intertwined families felt the impact. Her struggles became our struggles and fears. Her strength and determination to reclaim her health fostered our hope.

Standing with Reshma through her journey invigorates my passion about Look Good Feel Better and the incredible support that we as an industry provide to women in cancer treatment. Over the past 18 months – in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic – Look Good Feel Better has not wavered from its mission. When the pandemic rendered hosting in-person workshops impossible, Look Good Feel Better was there, ready to expand its LIVE! virtual workshop platform and provide a vital means of connection and support to women already feeling isolated and vulnerable because of their diagnosis. 

Responding to this challenge has become Look Good Feel Better’s greatest opportunity. We all know the transformative power of digital media to fundamentally change the way we do businesses. This year, Look Good Feel Better expanded its virtual presence beyond its core beauty workshops to include new content geared for every woman who wants to feel better. This exciting new content strategy, paired with its core beauty content, is enabling Look Good Feel Better to reach more women than ever before.

And reaching more women means helping more women. 

As leaders of the personal care products industry, we can do our part by supporting Look Good Feel Better’s annual BeautyCares DreamBall, which will be held virtually on Sept. 23, 2021. This year’s DreamBall will honor legends, advocates, heroes and survivors, including Leonard A. Lauder, chairman emeritus of the Estee Lauder Companies and honorary chair of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, with the inaugural Legacy Award; Esi Eggleston Bracey, COO and EVP of Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever, NA, with the Passionate Leadership Award; and television personality and author (and two-time breast cancer survivor) Bershan Shaw with the Survivor Advocate Award. 

When we rally the collective will and resources of our industry to help Look Good Feel Better, we are helping our families, our friends and our colleagues in the process. There truly is no limit to what we can accomplish. 

Please join me at this year’s DreamBall (from the comfort of home, in your best cocktail attire!). Donate generously to support Look Good Feel Better’s mission to help women rediscover their self-esteem, confidence and hope in the midst of a life-threatening illness. Your participation and generosity will enable us to serve many more women who need our help. 

Thank you for your continued support of Look Good Feel Better and its ambitious mission to serve women anywhere and everywhere. I look forward to seeing all of you online on September 23!

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Three Global Perspectives on Legislation from SPC Engage

PCPC aims to support the beauty and personal care industry’s sustainability practice and reputation through programmatic elements and initiatives, by sharing best practice, stakeholder education and engagement, and strategic communications.

As consumers increasingly demand sustainability from brands and businesses face mounting investor and regulatory pressures, public policymakers around the world are looking for solutions to reduce packaging waste and progress towards a circular economy, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, stewardship programs, and material bans or taxes. EPR policies recognize that a manufacturer’s responsibility for its product and packaging extends to its post-consumer use, attempting to shift some financial and management responsibility for a product’s impacts upstream to the manufacturer and away from the public sector. In doing so, these policies incentivize manufacturers to integrate environmental considerations into the design of their products and packaging.

The recent Engage 2021 virtual conference, hosted by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), focused on circular economy and EPR initiatives, highlighting legislatives activities around the globe.

By Lucy Pierce, Project Coordinator, Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Design for a Circular Economy, one of the themes of this year’s SPC Engage, highlighted programs, research, and legislation around the world helping move the idea of a functional circular economy from vision to reality. Highlights include: 

EPR Transition in Canada 

Usman Valiante from Corporate Policy Group highlighted the Canadian perspective when he said “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs in Canada are in transition.” Currently, the EPR programs are transitioning from producers only paying for municipal recycling services to gaining operational control of the recycling systems for residents. Valiante is optimistic that this transition is creating opportunities for harmonization between residents and provinces in Canada and leading to large-scale investments in advanced sorting technology across the country. While this transition for Canada has challenges ahead, Valiante is confident the technical and political expertise of the country will support changes for the better. 

Ending Single-Use in Chile

The panel discussion “Chile’s Journey to a Circular Economy” proved that Europeans are not the only ones engaging in ongoing political action to combat the take-make-waste, linear economic model. According to the panel, Chile passed EPR legislation for packaging in 2013. This year in 2021, Chile unanimously passed a law related to banning single use-plastics and promoting reusables that were not addressed in the previous EPR law. Mark Minneboo from Plastic Oceans Chile described the new legislation as specifically designed for restaurants, delivery, and takeaway to cover more of the single use outlets in Chile. This new legislation is not meant to be an outright ban, but rather an effort towards regulation. Guillermo Gonzalez Caballero of Chile’s Ministry of the Environment added the thought that, if all single use plastics are banned, the immediate result would just be a different single use material. This law is rethinking single use by promoting reusables and preventing single use items inside food establishments. 

Onshore Development in Australia

Like the United States, Australia has a three-tiered government system in place. Federal, state, and local entities work together to manage waste and recycling for the country. The varying levels of government can make it difficult to standardize recycling collection and processing, which combined with the 2018 global impacts of China’s National Sword program, prompted Australia to implement new legislation. Brooke Donnelly of the Australian Packaging Covenant stated that the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 2020 is centered around ensuring Australia’s appropriate participation in the global recycling market. The legislation tightens up global market standards and aims at building domestic capacity, to rely less on the exportation of materials. As an island country and continent, this is no small task. 

Overall, these Circular Economy-centric sessions at SPC Engage 2021 shed light on the packaging and recycling legislation happening across the globe. Policy was identified as a buzzword for the development of the circular economy and paying attention to global insight is especially important to disrupt the current linear model of consumption. These sessions gave new meaning to the phrase “Think globally, act locally.” 

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Pull Out a Chair and Be Part of the Change

By Keech Combe Shetty, PCPC Board Chair, and Lezlee Westine, PCPC President & CEO

Madam C.J. Walker was an extraordinary woman – a pioneer who started her business at the turn of the century, during a time when women of color had few rights and little opportunity. Today, she serves as a role model for many of us in the cosmetics and personal care industry.

Madam Walker was born to parents who had been enslaved. A talented entrepreneur with a knack for self-promotion, she built a business empire and employed Black women as “beauty culturalists,” providing them a unique opportunity for economic freedom. Her successful line of hair care products for Black women made her the first self-made American woman millionaire. Harnessing her fortune for good, she funded scholarships for women at the Tuskegee Institute and donated large parts of her wealth to charities, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and YMCA.

Madam C.J. Walker was ahead of her time. She inspired many women to follow in her footsteps, deepening her legacy and impact and driving our industry – and our nation – forward.

One such woman is Latriece Watkins, executive vice president, Consumables, Walmart U.S. The Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) recently presented Latriece with the first Madam C.J. Walker Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at the 2021 PCPC Virtual Summit. The award recognizes individuals in the beauty and personal care industry who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to DEI through strong leadership and sustained efforts focusing on workplace culture, programs and policies, or through external engagement with consumers and communities. This award will be an annual recognition.

Latriece is broadly recognized and admired as someone who leads with respect and lifts others. She champions DEI programs that create sustained, consistent and significant impact within her company and community. Like Madam Walker, Latriece is a true role model.

In accepting the award, Latriece spoke about the past year and how it changed us: “Corporate transformations, the pandemic, racial equity, hate. It was a lot. Our teams, our companies and our country – they need us to do more. They need us to be multidimensional.”

 

Madam C.J. Walker spoke of a duty to humanity and an obligation to care, not just about ourselves, but about others. “This duty calls me to do more,” Latriece said. “Delivering business results is not enough. Diversity and equity have to be a space where we seek, where we tell and where we believe in the truth. It cannot be a space that’s just about metrics. It has to be the conscience of the organization. And that means it takes each one of us.”

Beauty and personal care products companies are committed to helping shape a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world. We know there is more work to be done, and we don’t have all the answers. It all must begin with an honest assessment of our shortcomings, a strategy to address them and a willingness to keep working toward meaningful change. We know small steps can achieve extraordinary results when taken by many who are committed to the same goal.

Latriece shared a wonderful story: “An individual came to present at a Board meeting – someone who was not a regular face at this meeting and who likely epitomizes many of the people who are not represented in many Board rooms. As the presenter came into the room, a Board member pulled out a seat for this person. That simple gesture says so much: You are welcome here, you belong here, you have an equal seat at the table.”

Latriece urged each of us to pull out a seat at the table for someone – anywhere you work or live. We need to recognize more opportunities to lift others, broaden the conversation, deepen our awareness and ultimately change our outlook and actions.

Pull out a chair. Make the table bigger. Welcome others to the conversation. Do whatever it takes to be part of meaningful change, part of building a more equitable world. We applaud Latriece Watkins for her tireless work to infuse our companies, communities and country with more humanity. She follows in the footsteps of the extraordinary Madam C.J. Walker and, in doing so, inspires all of us to do more.

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