Sephora to implement changes addressing racially biased experiences

Sephora is making major changes to aid in mitigating racially biased and unfair treatment of shoppers in the retail sector.

The San Francisco-based beauty chain’s plan includes an increased diversity in product offerings and workforce, inclusive marketing programming, and greater accountability by updating its employee conduct policies.

“At Sephora, diversity, equality and inclusion have been our core values since we launched a new kind of beauty retail destination in the U.S. over 20 years ago, but the reality is that shoppers at Sephora, and in U.S. retail more broadly, are not always treated fairly and consistently,” said Jean-André Rougeot, president and CEO of Sephora Americas. “We know that we’re in a strong position to influence positive changes in the retail industry and society at large. and it’s our responsibility to step up. We’re committed to doing all we can to make our U.S. retail experience more welcoming for everyone. Today, we are proud to share a first look at Sephora’s action plan designed to tackle the issue of unfair treatment. We know it will be a journey, but we’re committed to holding ourselves accountable to this mission for the benefit of our clients, our employees, our communities and the retail industry at large.”

To get an idea of what customers have experienced, Sephora conducted a survey from fall 2019 to late 2020 that measured the issue of racially biased experiences in U.S. retail.  

Some findings from the survey include:

• Two in five retail shoppers said they have personally experienced unfair treatment on the basis of race or skin tone;
• Black shoppers are two times more likely than white shoppers to receive unfair treatment;
• One in five retail employees said they have personally experienced unfair treatment based on their race at their place of work from either customers or co-workers; and
• One in three retail employees said they have contemplated quitting when experiencing racial bias and unfair treatment.

A preliminary action plan by Sephora to address these issues will include building upon its 15 Percent Pledge by doubling the assortment of Black-owned brands by the end of 2021, prominently feature and advertise Black-owned brands through a dedicated tab, and evolve its brand incubator program by growing BIPOC-owned and founded brands.

Other changes will include creating new training modules for all beauty advisors that highlight what client engagement should look like, new client feedback mechanisms to aid in better identifying incidents of bias, and implement operational changes that allow beauty advisors to focus solely on client service, the company said.

To wrap this all up, Sephora will communicate its progress against these actions on a biannual basis via a diversity and inclusion section on its website, as well as partner with such trade organizations as Open to All, RILA and Diversity Best Practices.

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done thus far to make diversity, equity and inclusion a priority for the company” Rougeot said. "We are stronger as a retail community when we are serving the needs of all of our shoppers, and hope other retailers will join us, with the ultimate goal of advancing inclusivity and improving the retail experience for all.”