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ELC Celebrates Sixth Annual I&D Week
The Estée Lauder Companies celebrates its commitment to Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) globally
Company Feature, Jun 11, 2019
The Estée Lauder Companies was proud to celebrate the company’s unwavering commitment to continued Inclusion and Diversity with the sixth annual I&D Week. I&D Week is globally recognized across the company as a time to educate employees through various events and learnings, and to champion the efforts of I&D leaders at the company.
Fabrizio Freda, Marilu Marshall and William P. Lauder
This year’s I&D Week focused on “The Beauty of Belonging.” At ELC, belonging is integral to the success of our employees and our long-term business. Celebrating our employees’ individuality is a key to being the best in our industry.
I&D Week kicked off at ELC’s global headquarters in New York City with an event honoring the leaders and executive sponsors of our various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Fabrizio Freda, President and CEO, addressed the crowd saying, “The diversity of our employees enables us to be the most creative, innovative and transformative company in our industry – pushing the envelope with locally-relevant products and meaningful experiences for the most discerning consumers around the world.”
Professor Kenji Yoshino
Events in New York City continued throughout the week, including an exploration of global trends in the men’s makeup space, titled Modern Man: A Beauty Perspective, co-hosted by our LGBTQA ERG, wELCome, and Men’s ERG, MERG!. Doug Jensen, VP of CRM and Corporate Marketing Analytics, shared his expertise with the group. In addition, ELC hosted Professor Kenji Yoshino, who spoke about the negative effects of “covering,” or downplaying one’s attributes to blend into mainstream.
Around the world, I&D Week was celebrated in ELC’s regional offices with a multitude of events across 25 affiliates. In the London offices, which are home to ELC’s UK & Ireland Headquarters, the highlight of the week for many was a #DearMe panel with Dianna Tieu, GM La Mer, UK & Ireland, and Luke Evans, VP GM Aveda, UK & Ireland, run in partnership with the millennial Employee Resource Group, GenNEXT. Luke and Dianna shared pearls of wisdom, encouraging the audience to celebrate their individuality and to be true to themselves, while taking pride in their background.
Additional events, to list just a few, included the screening of the documentary “More Than T” for employees in Paris. The film follows members of the transgender community and was produced in partnership with MAC Cosmetics. In Malaysia, employees were treated to breakfast and sweets, and shared appreciation cards with each other, and in South Korea, an unconscious bias seminar was held which included a special visit from Marilu Marshall, SVP, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer.
Discussing this year’s theme, “The Beauty of Belonging,” Marilu said: “Belonging is that feeling of security and support that we have when we feel accepted and part of a team. It is a basic human need, which drives us to form and maintain lasting, positive and significant relationships with others. When we feel a true sense of belonging at ELC, we feel like we can be our authentic selves, and do our best work.”
