Dove Announces New Initiatives to Help Fight Discrimination and Systemic Racism

Marci Robin
·2 min read

An enormorous — and growing — chorus of beauty brands has been voicing its newly invigorated focus on racial equity. Many have announced donations to causes like Black Lives Matter, while others have participated in initiatives like the #PullUpOrShutUp challenge, revealing the percentage of Black employees in leadership roles and pledging to increase diversity. But as it became readily apparent that a one-off donation or single Instagram post would not be enough in the grand scheme of an ongoing movement, some brands are stepping up in a bigger way. Dove is one of those brands.

"The fight against systemic racism needs action, not just words," the brand said in a statement announcing new initiatives. "That's why we are accelerating our work to help eradicate race-based discrimination against Black people to support and empower the next generation."

First, Dove is expanding its work with the CROWN Coalition, an organization it formed with the National Urban League, Color Of Change, and the Center for Western Law and Poverty in 2019 to end race-based hair discrimination. Among the scaled-up plans is legislative advocacy to push for outlawing race-based hair discrimination and evaluate bills that address systemic racism and discrimination, as well as developing and implementing unconscious bias training in workplaces and schools.

Dove is also creating the CROWN Fund and pledging $5 million for "ongoing support to drive change in an effort to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination that disproportionately impacts Black lives." This includes working with organizations and creating new programs that support the Black community — especially women and girls — while evolving the Dove Self-Esteem Project to address racial justice and equity.

Additionally, as a brand with a hugely visible platform, Dove says it will continue amplifying Black voices on our social channels, including a new monthly @dove Instagram takeover series. Through Project #ShowUs — a partnership with Getty Images and Girlgaze — the brand will focus on increasing the representation of Black women through stock photography created by women and nonbinary individuals. Furthermore, Dove will commit at least 25 percent of its influencer budget to Black content creators.

And to hold itself accountable, Dove will conduct a review to track its progress against these new metrics every June.

Hopefully, Dove's proactivity will inspire other beauty brands to make meaningful contributions to the equity and visibility of the Black community.

More brands making changes:

Now check out 100 years of Black hair:

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Originally Appeared on Allure