Natura & Co and L’Oréal ranked most ‘inclusive and diverse’ beauty majors in the world: Refinitiv report

In Refinitiv’s 2020 Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index report, that ranked 100 companies worldwide from a pool of 9,000, Brazilian-headquartered personal care major Natura & Co held second spot, just behind investment banking giant BlackRock. Natura & Co owned a range of brands via four interdependent companies –  Natura, The Body Shop, Aesop and most recently Avon – the latter of which was acquired in a move said to create a pure-play beauty giant in the market​.

France-headquartered beauty major L’Oréal ranked sixth, behind software and IT specialist Accenture, the Royal Bank of Canada and specialty retailer Industria de Diseno Textil SA. L’Oréal’s plethora of brands stretched across four business units – Luxe, Consumer Products, Active Cosmetics and Professional Products – with brands like Yves Saint Laurent, Kiehl’s, Garnier, La Roche-Posay and Kératase Paris operating globally.

Top 100 inclusive and diverse companies? Nine beauty and personal care firms feature​

Natura & Co and L’Oréal were the only two beauty and personal care firms to make the top 10 ranking this year, with just nine beauty and personal care companies featuring in the 2020 top 100 list.

Estée Lauder placed next at 18^th​; LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton ranked 34^th​; Shiseido ranked 36^th​; Johnson & Johnson ranked 40^th​; Unilever ranked 64^th​; and Colgate-Palmolive ranked 97^th​.

The United States secured the majority of rankings in the top 100 companies, with 20 US-headquartered firms, followed by 13 from the UK; nine from Australia; seven from Canada; and seven from France. The EMEA region led the way with the most culturally and gender diverse boards, according to the D&I Index.

Refinitiv’s D&I Index measured relative performance against 24 metrics that defined diverse and inclusive workplaces, informed by its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data. Reviewing 9,000 publicly listed companies, performance was measured across four pillars: diversity, inclusion, people development and news and controversies. Its full methodology can be found here​.

Creating a ‘more effective workforce’​

Debra Walton, chief revenue officer at Refinitiv, congratulated all the companies that featured in this year’s top 100 list.

“We are delighted that our D&I Index continues to be used as a guide to help firms across the globe create a more effective workforce through diverse teams,” ​Walton said.

Jean-Claude Le Grand, executive VP for human relations at L’Oréal, said the beauty major had been “deeply committed”​ to diversity and inclusion across its business for the past 15 years.

“This recognition of our efforts by this globally respected and objective ranking is encouraging and inspires us to accelerate our progress in this critical area of our business. We firmly believe that diversity and inclusion is essential to our success and key to sustaining our innovative spirit,”​ Le Grand said.

Last year, L’Oréal ranked 12^th​ on the list and in 2018 it ranked 8^th​.

Diversity and inclusion in the spotlight with COVID-19​

Refinitiv said this year’s report was particularly timely, given how the COVID-19 global pandemic had “shone a light on why diversity is critical for business recovery and resilience”. ​

“As companies look to adapt to a new way of conducting business post-COVID-19, diversity and inclusion factors need to be on the agenda alongside financial resilience, environmental risks and workforce health,” ​Refinitiv said.

Walton agreed: “The global pandemic has certainly brought to light a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion, reinforcing the reality that we are all in this together. Data-based insights and transparency are a fundamental element of a successful movement to achieve more diverse and inclusive workplaces.”​