THE MULTINATIONAL BEAUTY, PERSONAL CARE AND FRAGRANCE BRAND CELEBRATES PRIDE MONTH WITH A ROLL OUT OF A MULTI-FACETED EDUCATION CAMPAIGN ADVOCATING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY
As the world celebrates International Pride Month in the month of June, Avon Justine has embarked on a campaign to educate its employees, Beauty Entrepreneurs, customers and the public on the LGBTQIA+ acronym and to unpack the meaning behind each letter in an effort to promote and advocate for diversity and inclusion in society.
“The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex Asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) community continues to face discrimination in their personal lives, in the workplace and the public sphere, and when accessing critical healthcare,” says Lerato Ndoro, Executive Director HR, Turkey Middle East Africa. “This experience of discrimination leads to many adverse consequences for their financial, mental, and physical well-being. As a brand that has and will always advocate for equal human rights and the promotion of diversity and inclusion in our society regardless of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, we felt it’s important that we use our voice to dispel myths and further breakdown negative and discriminatory perceptions against the LGBTQIA+ community.”
To achieve this, the beauty, personal care and fragrance brand has partnered with influential figures in the LGBTQIA+ community. Kamohelo Pule, Gomolemo Motaung and Charli X Boi are driving conversation and engagement using #AvongBringsThePride and #AvonPride to unpack the LGBTQIA” acronym by sharing what it means to them and the community. They also aim to popularise the LGBTQIA+ community colours by encouraging their social media followers to upload pictures of face beats inspired by the colours that represent Pride.
“We believe that our employees and our Beauty Entrepreneurs are the most important advocates of our campaign,” adds Lityi. “For this reason, we have been engaging them with education-driven campaigns and content to expand their knowledge and understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community. By doing so, we are confident that they will share this knowledge to dispel myths and inspire acceptance and an appreciation of the rights of LGBTQIA+ in their communities.”
Ndoro adds that part of the reason People #ChooseAvon is the attachment of philanthropy to its products. For International Pride Month, the company is dedicating all profits from the sale of its Gel Shine Nail Enamels, retailing at R69.95, in pink, blue and red to its NGO partners: Illitha Labantu, Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, 1000 Women Trust, Tears Foundation, POWA and Lawyers Against Abuse. Customers can purchase these and other exciting Avon products on its Online store (my.avon.co.za), through any Avon Beauty Entrepreneur or via the AvonON App.
