L’Oréal celebrates the 10th anniversary of its DisAbility Awards and restates its commitment to people with disabilities

L’Oréal has made strides toward Diversity & Inclusion and is recognized for its achievements. More than 15 years ago, L’Oréal committed to employ people with disabilities as one of the historical pillars of the group’s Diversity & Inclusion Policy, along with ensuring gender equity and empowering people of all social, economic and multicultural backgrounds.

“Diversity and inclusion are core values of L’Oréal's strategy. For us, creating an inclusive and diverse environment is simultaneously a business performance issue, an HR priority and a component of our responsible employer stance,” said Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal.

This year, L’Oréal celebrates the 10th edition of its DisAbility Awards, an internal competition focusing on the inclusion of people with disabilities and seeking to share and promote best practices. This edition marks a change and a real step forward in matter of addressing all of our consumers’ needs as well as the most disadvantaged communities. 63 projects were submitted, 15 finalists presented to a Global Jury and 4 winners and a Special Award for Russia.

And the winners are…

For Employee – Centricity
Among the initiatives that were rewarded, the Colombian “Breaking Barriers” program demonstrates a strong and sustainable commitment sparked by the inclusion of deaf employees. Despite no legal obligation, the Colombian production plant is the best-in-class factory in matter of inclusion. It is the only plant worldwide, which is so well equipped for all its employees and a real example of inclusion.

The "BeatTheStigma” project presented by UK & Ireland raised awareness on mental health in the workplace and fight against fear and silence on these issues. This initiative is a real game changer and pioneer program to increase well-being of employees.

For Consumers – Centricity
L’Oréal Paris Portugal’s “All included – We’re all worth it” project created online video content with subtitles, audio tutorials, product labels in braille, website and messenger customer support for consumers with hearing and visual impairments. This well-rounded approach was perceived as an important step in digital accessibility.

For Community – Centricity
The “Naya Aghaaz” Pakistan’s program provided free beauty training to women with disabilities from underprivileged background to better their employment opportunities and empower their lives. This Corporate citizen initiative, which is built upon the L’Oréal Foundation program Beauty For a Better Life supports a noble and very difficult cause.

… and a Special Prize

The Russian team was rewarded for its amazing acceleration in the matter of disability while reaching great performance. The “Inclusive Company for Disabled People” initiative aims to employ candidates with disabilities, and helps them grow and develop within the organization through this inclusion initiative.

To find out more about Diversity and Inclusion at L’Oréal:
Discover our different commitments to meet the expectations of Group L’Oréal employees and the Group’s strategies to improve the company of tomorrow. (Source: L’Oréal 2017 Annual Report).