NJBIA member L’Oréal USA is the first company in the world to be EDGEplus certified, a new global standard recognizing organizations whose efforts go beyond gender equity and are building more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces using a multidimensional DE&I strategy.
EDGE, which stands for Economic Dividends for Gender Equality, is an assessment methodology developed by the EDGE Certified Foundation and launched at the World Economic Forum in 2011. EDGE Certification has been designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for both women and men, but also benefit from it.
The methodology uses a business, rather than theoretical approach that incorporates benchmarking, metrics, and accountability. It assesses policies, practices, and numbers across five different areas: equal pay for equivalent work, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working, and company culture. EDGEplus extends the impact of EDGE certification by measuring the intersectionality of gender and race/ethnicity, sexual identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, and nationality.
“We are proud to pioneer the new EDGEplus certification for the beauty industry and other sectors around the world and are motivated by this milestone to accelerate our progress,” said Stéphane Rinderknech, president & CEO of L’Oréal USA.
“For topics as important as gender equality and pay equity for all, it is reassuring to have a partner like EDGE to validate the path we have taken and support us in the next steps we must take to achieve our goals,” Rinderknech said. “Our diversity and inclusion mission requires a collective effort, and our recent results are a testament to L’Oréal’s commitment to developing and fostering a culture of inclusion, belonging, and growth.”
L’Oréal USA began the EDGEplus certification process in January 2021. The process included a comprehensive review of the company’s DE&I policies and practices to ensure equitable career opportunities, in addition to a statistical analysis of the entire U.S. workforce of more than 11,000 employees. L’Oréal USA received feedback from more than 3,500 of its employees on perceptions of the company’s inclusive culture, fair opportunities for promotion and career advancement, equitable pay, and flexible work arrangements.
“L’Oréal USA’s investment in EDGE and the EDGEplus certification underscores our responsibility to consistently measure gender equity through various dimensions of diversity – race/ethnicity, gender identity, disability, age and veteran status – in a sustainable way,” said Angela Guy, chief diversity and inclusion officer of L’Oréal USA. “Overall, we showed even greater representation of women at the senior leadership level, including those in the pipeline and improved in most of the employee perceptions on a variety of key metrics.”
L’Oréal USA has implemented programs, policies and practices that support the advancement of women in the workplace and ensure equity across various dimensions of diversity. In 2020, women represented 56% of L’Oréal’s leadership positions in the United States. The company’s diverse leadership also play a critical role in L’Oréal USA’s employee-driven think tanks focused on various aspects of workforce diversity.
Additionally, L’Oréal USA offers a minimum of 16 weeks paid leave for mothers and eight weeks for other parents (fathers and co-parents). As part of L’Oréal USA’s permanent hybrid work model, eligible employees have the flexibility to work 40% of their time remotely each week.
L’Oréal USA is the largest subsidiary of the L’Oréal Group, the world’s leading beauty company that has generated more than $7 billion in sales annually. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates administrative, research, manufacturing, and distribution facilities across 16 states, including New Jersey.
