Revealed: 3 key findings from beauty industry report into diversity & inclusion

CEW UK, The MBS Group and ScienceMagic. Inc have worked in collaboration to produce a report on diversity, equity and inclusion on the European beauty industry.

For this report, The MBS Group, CEW and ScienceMagic.Inc reached out to the 100 largest companies operating in Europe, gathering quantitative and qualitative data which demonstrates the diversity of the industry’s leadership teams, and the extent to which organisations are prioritising DE&I.

The key findings are:

1. Gender diversity is high compared to other sectors, but still drops off at the most senior levels

The reports demonstrates this to be an industry-wide problem with the sector’s top businesses being led by men with decades of sector and company experience. As part of the research, the executive committees of the five biggest beauty businesses operating in the UK were analysed and it was found that 71% of executive committee seats in these businesses are being held by men, most of whom have decades of sector experience at their company.

2. There is ethnic diversity in the beauty industry, but it is not widespread

According to the data collected, the beauty sector is performing well on ethnic diversity, relative to its adjacent consumer sectors. However, progress in this area is not widespread. 48% of beauty businesses have no ethnic minority representation on their board, and just over half (51%) have no ethnic minority representation on their executive committee.

3. There is a hesitancy to discuss diversity & inclusivity in the beauty sector

One of the findings found from the research is the nervousness from beauty businesses to engage in the topic of DE&I. Of the 100 largest beauty companies operating in the UK, fewer than 50% responded to the request to be interviewed for the research. In one case, a business opted not to be included as a case study, despite performing excellently on diversity and having one of the most advanced DE&I strategies.

“Over the past decade, the industry has evolved. We’ve seen brands move away from narrow definitions of beauty and provide inclusive offerings that cater to everyone, comments Huw Llewellyn-Waters, director, Consumer Goods Practice for the MBS Group.

“Encouragingly, we are starting to see a similar process happen within leadership teams, as organisations in the sector recognise the many benefits of diverse workforces and inclusive environments.”

“We are proud to have worked alongside The MBS Group and ScienceMagic.Inc to deliver this first report on the beauty and wellbeing sector, which we hope will act as a guide and platform to help to drive our passionate and empowering community as we move forward,” adds Sallie Berkerey, managing director at CEW UK.

To read the full report, click here