In the past we have made a lot of progress in increasing gender diversity in all of our areas. We stand by our value that All are welcome, Always. The current #BlackLivesMatter movement has held up a mirror in front of us in which we can see that we are still far from doing enough. We have to admit that we have not yet provided an inclusive, safe, welcoming place for Black people and People of Colour.
We know that it is systemic oppression, racism and inequality that are deeply rooted in the foundations of our society. We know that it is impossible not to make any mistake about this. What matters is how we learn from our mistakes, good intentions are not enough. We want to learn and become an allied company. We are ready to do a lot of work in this regard, to provide transparent information, and to advance the debate on the subject.
100 Day Plan
100 Days to Achieve (June-October 2020)
We have created a 100 day action plan to kick start this ongoing commitment:
- Release a public statement from Lush in response to Black Lives Matter, and what practical steps we are taking as a business, for transparency and accountability. This can be found: here
- Create guiding principles together as a business, to hold every individual accountable in creating a safer space where everyone’s voice is heard
- Publish the 100 day plan (which is what we are reading here), and update the business on how we will continue to support moving forward
- Require all managers across Lush Manufacturing, Lush Retail, Lush Limited, Lush Cosmetic Warriors and Lush Digital to have their own 100 day plan to commit to change
- Obtain demographic data to be able to measure diversity within the business, allowing us to assess our progress
- Undertake unconscious bias training for senior leadership teams, hiring managers, product inventors, people team and recruitment team. Specifically, looking at how to identify our area of opportunity, and create an inclusive workplace with that in mind
- Review all people practices and develop the Respect at Work policy to include, “How to Handle” prejudice, microaggressions and discrimination in the workplace
- Conduct an audit of all product names, content and copy to remove any stereotyping and ensure all future products are developed with this in mind
- Reassess how we make a product for every need and diversify the process from conception. Starting with launching the Black hair care range in all shops with the appropriate training delivered to all
- Overhaul of recruitment practices to remove biases and actively encourage representation within teams
- Set clear expectations during the new starter process on our commitment to diversity and inclusion
- Use our buying power to drive other companies to uphold our stance on inclusivity by ensuring their policies echo ours
Further reading →
12:11