Advancing Possibilities for Women

When Mrs. Estée Lauder began selling her beauty products more than 75 years ago, she did more than just launch a business—she redefined what was possible for women at that time. Through her passion, persistence, and achievements, Mrs. Estée Lauder built the foundation for our business and our belief that gender should never limit one’s ambition or potential for greatness.

Our company has never lost sight of this vision and we hold firm to her example by working to support women within our organization and in communities around the globe. From fostering inclusive leadership at every level to investing in increased workplace and leadership opportunities, economic mobility, and access to health care and education for women and girls, we aspire to make an impactful difference in women’s lives, globally.

We are dedicated to advancing women throughout our organization:

• Our workforce is approximately 80% female.
• Approximately 59% of positions Vice President and above are held by women.
• Women make up nearly half of our Board of Directors.
• More than 60% of our scientists, engineers, and technology professionals are women—more than double the global average of all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workers.^*
• Women lead all six of our global Research and Development Innovation Centers.
• More than half of our global supply chain employees is made up of women.

^*WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT, JUNE 2023

Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) further facilitate a sense of community and belonging, collaboration, mentorship, and career development. The Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) and its subgroups, Women in Supply Chain and Women in Technology, are dedicated to engaging and encouraging women in the Company to identify and achieve their goals. WLN has more than 2,440 members globally.

Our signature women’s leadership program, the Open Doors Intensive, was established to develop an inclusive group of high-potential, mid-career women in the Company. Since its launch in 2020, this immersive, facilitated program has built critical skills for success and an unrivaled sense of community with peers and senior leaders for women in more than 15 countries. More than 95% of Open Door participants that they are more confident in their skills and abilities, better equipped to respond to feedback, and better able to navigate obstacles at work. 

Open Doors has expanded to include a self-guided, online, interactive leadership development experience—the Open Doors Course Collection. More than 3,000 employees in 54 countries have accessed and benefitted from these resources.

• Through ELCCF's five-year $15 million commitment to Co-Impact’s Gender Fund, we join others to support grassroots organizations in the Global South working to accelerate progress toward gender equity. The Gender Fund is focused on achieving systems change and elevating women’s power, agency, and leadership at all levels. Since launching in 2022, The Gender Fund has awarded 49 grants to predominantly women-led, local organizations across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• We are focused on supporting communities where we live, work, and source. Women in and around our global supply chain face numerous obstacles related to lack of access to resources, training and education, and financial independence. With the support of ELCCF, BSR implemented a program supporting women working in the shea supply chain in northern Ghana, a program that allowed more than 1,000 women across two sites to receive training on financial planning, budgeting, and money management.
• We support the work of grassroots community organizations advancing literacy as a pathway to equality, access, and social change. WRITING CHANGE is The Estée Lauder Companies’ three-year initiative with Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate and the first Estée Lauder Global Changemaker. In year one of the program, we partnered with American Library Association, Girls Write Now, MIGIZI, We Need Diverse Books, and WriteGirl to facilitate workshops, mentoring programs, and book donations to thousands of young people across the country.

We partner with universities and academic institutions to develop the next generation of STEM leaders. For the past six years, we’ve partnered with scientific research publisher, Springer Nature, to host the Nature Awards for Inspiring Women in Science, which aims to promote gender equality in scientific research and STEM outreach to women and girls. We also partner with organizations in the communities where we operate, such as Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania and Farmingdale State College in Suffolk County, New York, on educational initiatives to grow STEM talent.

We’re using our convening power to help facilitate dialogue and promote women’s representation in STEM fields. In fiscal 2023,we co-hosted, with the UN Foundation and UN Women, a private sector roundtable to discuss how to close the digital gender gap, which sees women underrepresented worldwide in technology literacy, access, and employment. Continuing discussions from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the group considered ways the private sector can use its influence and expertise to close the gap and increase opportunities and mentorship for women in STEM-focused careers.

The Future (of STEM) is Inclusive

Through the Estée Lauder brand’s partnership with Kode With Klossy, the non-profit founded by Estée Lauder Global Brand Ambassador, Karlie Kloss, we are supporting the next generation of STEM talent throughout the U.S. workforce. Kode With Klossy creates learning experiences and opportunities for young women and gender expansive youth, inspiring them to pursue their passions in a tech-driven world