“One of the most important things a diverse board does is bring in multiple viewpoints to make better decisions. At e.l.f. Beauty, empathy is part of our business model because it brings us closer to our community and the things people in the community care about,” said Amin. “A diverse board also helps us stay culturally relevant among multiple affinities. It’s the unique combination and diverse school of thought that helps us lead innovation and brand demand in the industry.”
Recognizing that putting more diversity in seats of power will take the partnership of other companies, e.l.f. 's ambition is to help double the rate of women and diverse members added to corporate boards by 2027.
To drive awareness and, especially, motivate change, e.l.f. developed an attention-grabbing campaign that will hit the streets of New York City and across all e.l.f. channels. The out-of-home creative is running now through June 10 around the Financial District, including Fulton Street Station and The Oculus. The units feature bold headlines calling stats about current boards – and inviting others to learn about how diversity can drive profitability for everyone. These are among the first disruptive amplifications of many more to come in e.l.f.’s long-term commitment to this movement.
Working with purpose-driven agency OBERLAND, e.l.f. Beauty conducted research on Corporate Boards in the U.S. learning that men named Richard, Rick, or Dick (Dicks) serving on these public company boards outnumbered women and diverse groups.
To create the data, e.l.f. Beauty and OBERLAND identified and categorized the race and gender of each person serving on the boards of directors of U.S. based companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ using publicly available biographies, images, public statements and information provided in public filings. This included 36,957 existing board members across 4,429 publicly traded U.S. companies. Once the data was in hand, the statistics were astounding.
There were 566 men named Richard, Rick, or Dick (Dicks) serving on these public company boards.
Black women and Asian women barely outnumber men named Dick, with only 806 Black Women, 774 Asian Women.
There were only 283 Hispanic Women on these same boards, only half the number of “Dicks.”
There are 19x more men named Dick than the 29 women of Middle Eastern descent on these boards.
There are only 3 Native American Women serving on these boards compared to 566 men named Dick.
That data that fueled “So Many Dicks” has never been categorized this way and researched manually, it illuminates underrepresentation in boardrooms that make decisions at companies that fuel the U.S. economy.
“e.l.f. 's commitment to diverse representation isn’t limited to within the four walls of our company. We want to normalize diversity – and if it takes some e.l.f.ing in-your-face advertising to do it, we’re happy to put it on some of the biggest screens you can imagine,” said Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “The aim of the data, the database and the compelling ad campaign is to invite others with us on this journey to drive real impact and help corporate boards more accurately reflect the world around us.”
e.l.f. kicked off the “Change The Board Game” initiative earlier this year when it announced a partnership with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and its sponsorship of 20 women and/or diverse board-ready candidates through NACD Accelerate™, a unique, two-year program that creates a pathway for executives to prepare for board service. Each year in the U.S. we typically see around 3% growth of women and diverse candidates on corporate boards, but e.l.f. is aiming for 6% growth by 2027.
“This campaign demonstrates the ROI of DEI in a way that gets people’s attention, hopefully compelling them to join our cause,” said Drew Train, Chief Executive Officer, OBERLAND. “It is our belief that broad representation of the marketplace is part of a successful business plan, and an inclusive workforce and board gives the best context to achieve that.”
e.l.f. is encouraging existing board members to visit the website and verify/update their gender and race to ensure the database is the most accurate representation of corporate boards in the U.S.
For more information on “Change the Board Game,” visit ChangeTheBoardGame.com.
