Sephora Is Driving Change To Combat Systemic Racism In Retail
Forbes | July 7, 2020
Today, Sephora will close its stores for two hours, dedicating the time to training on racial profiling and education on Sephora’s national study on racial bias in retail. Corporate employees will also participate in Conscious Leadership training. The retailer, which sells multi-branded beauty products in 490 stores across the Americas, has been recognized as an industry leader in terms of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Sephora has been actively creating various initiatives to combat racial bias and to foster equality and inclusion in retail, as demonstrated by the recent commissioning of a first-of-its-kind national study on racial bias in retail settings.
The findings of the study are informing Sephora on ways to implement and pilot various policies and procedures to improve in-store experiences and overall business practices, and Reign continues to say that Sephora is planning to encourage the entire retail industry to address bias in retail. “A common challenge for a complex issue like racial bias is making sure that all the right voices are in the room to provide more diverse perspectives,” according to Reign. She continues by noting that having a group of thought-leaders that are well-versed in DEI issues and can speak to diverse cultural perspectives aides in developing plans that are both detailed and wide-reaching.