#PullUpOrShutUP: Beauty Brands Are Asked To Release Their Numbers Of Black Employees And Execs
Over the last decade, the beauty industry has been perceived as one of the most inclusive industries in the world. With diverse influencers across the globe and an influx of black-owned businesses over the last few years, it seemingly had diversity and inclusive expertly managed. But in the wake of hard conversations about race in society, a serious challenge was issued to the industry to show us the receipts!
Pull Up or Shut Up is a digital campaign that challenged beauty brands who have released a statement of public support for Black Lives Matter, to publicly release the number of black employees they have in their organizations at corporate level/leadership roles. Started by founder of UOMA Beauty, Sharon Chuter, this initiative is fighting for economic opportunities for black people. "To at this point, to still be absolving yourself from the role you have played and continue to play in the marginalized and oppression of black people, shows that a lot of these efforts are just PR stunts," Chuter says in her inaugural call to action video.
The call to action spread furiously, with beauty influencers like Jackie Aina and Nyma Tang echoing the challenge on their own platforms. While the initial call was for 72 hours post statements, brands are continuing to pull up. The big powerhouse ULTA reported 18% Black board members and 13% Black executive team leaders, while Sephora reported 45% people of color in corporate offices, with 6% being Black. L'Oreal, a self-proclaimed company for multicultural women, reported 7% in corporate positions and 8% at the executive level is black. Since L'Oreal owns juggernaut brands like Maybelline, Essie, Carol's Daughter and Kiehl's, any increase at these brands would make a sizable difference in the lives of many black people.
The cruelty-free brand ColourPop reported 3% black participation and acknowledged there's work to be done. ColourPop's rise to fame coincides with the rise of the influencer, including black influencers like Ellarie and Shayla. PUR is 30% black; Boxy Charm is 8%; and fan-favorite Supergoop! has 2 black people in leadership roles. Smaller brands like Sunday Riley reported 9.1% in management roles, with 20% of the top highest compensated people being Black.
As we can see, many brands profited from black culture without consciously investing in black lives. Without transparency, we cannot start an honest dialogue about the changes that need to happen in our society. It's imperative.
In 2019, only four Fortune 500 companies had a black chief executive, down from seven less than a decade ago. There are more than 1,800 Fortune 500 companies; that discrepancy creates a serious disparity between the black community and other communities. The black community spends $1.2 trillion a year, and that number was projected to $1.5 trillion by 2021, pre-COVID. Black hair care alone raked in an estimated $2.51 billion in 2018.
The black dollar is extremely powerful, yet the black community benefits very little from it. The black dollar is not being reinvested into the black community, but instead into systems that actively neglect and oppress the black community in various facets.
This is about more than representation. It's rooted in the overall mission to build generational wealth for black families. Race-based economic inequality is a persistent feature of the United States that is at odds with the national narrative regarding wealth and racial equality. White households earning more than their black counterparts remained largely constant or even widened between 1967 and 2015. Historical and present-day forms of racism have systematically disadvantaged black communities in their pursuit of economic opportunities.
The profit of black culture without black participation has to stop.
Roughly 8% of people employed in white collar professions are black, and only 3.2% of them are in executive or senior management roles. An active and ongoing push to diversify corporate boardrooms and leadership roles drastically change the landscape for black families. It goes beyond beauty and skincare. Currently, challenges have been issued to Fashion Nova and Nike without any comment from the brands.
Personally, I would like to see other industries follow suit. The fashion industry is extremely underrepresented and has been since its inception. To see the makeup of your favorite glossies and brands would facilitate very interesting conversations, the kind needed to change our world.
Keep up with what brands responded to the challenge and released their numbers by visiting the Pull Up For Change Instagram.
Featured image via Atlas Agency / Shutterstock.com
Courtney is a contributing writer, based in Puerto Rico by way of Tennessee. Interested in the intersection of fashion and culture, she has an affinity for fashion, empowerment, and really good tacos. Keep up with her on Instagram (@hautecourtxo).
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Blac Chyna Opens Up About Her Initial Fear To Share Her Spiritual Journey With Others
Watching Angela “Blac Chyna” White’s transformation in real-time has truly been a sight to see. It wasn’t that long ago that she announced that she was reversing her cosmetic surgeries in an effort to go back to who she was before the world came to know her as Blac Chyna. In previous interviews, she stated that she was dissolving her facial and lip fillers, removing her breast implants, and getting a butt reduction, as well as removing the dimple piercings that enhanced her fame and controversial tattoos.
In a recent Tamron Hall interview, the mother of two said that she has “fully recovered” from the procedures. She is also celebrating one year of sobriety and opened up about being worried about how her new journey would be received by others.
“I’ve been in the entertainment industry for so long, right, and of course, like, you know, coming out, I’m like young, I’m gonna do wild things as we all have,” she said.
“...I feel like by me being vocal and showing everybody you can change your life and things can get better, like through myself, that right there is an accomplishment, and that’s a part of freedom, too.”
But as she started on her journey, many people have shown her grace, which is something she’s grateful for. “And then the fact that people have been showing me grace, it’s like amazing,” she said. “And I feel like when I did it, I just did it. It was more so like spiritual thing and I feel like people see that, and I’ve always been like my authentic self, so what you see is kinda what you get with me, and that’s just kinda what it is.”
Chyna, who recently received an honorary doctorate from Sacramento Theology Seminary and Bible College, has also repaired her relationship with her mom, Tokyo Toni. The social media celebrity surprised her daughter on the Tamron Hall Show. Prior to the sentimental surprise, Chyna dished on the reconciliation and having a better understanding of her mom.
“I must say, some of the things I have to take accountability for because, like my actions. As a mother, you don’t want to see your daughter doing certain things ‘cause it’s like it doesn’t matter what my past was or what we’re going through, I didn’t raise you that way,” she admitted. “So, it’s like, okay, maybe I was a little bit wrong. Maybe I was acting out a little bit. But I feel like as we grow older, I kinda see more, and I understand more.”
Chyna will be starring in season two of Fox's reality competition show Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
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Feature image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
