A Beauty Entrepreneur’s Call For Black Representation in the Beauty Industry

On June 3, Sharon Chuter, founder and CEO of UOMA Beauty, posted a video on Instagram asking big name beauty brands to either “pull up or shut up” in response to their apparent PR stunts supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

Now, representation is a huge issue in America, let alone in the beauty industry. The current state of affairs magnifies the lack of diversity even more; it’s tragic that the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst for many people to recognize the need for social justice in the Black Community. 

According to Chuter in her Instagram video, she addresses the fact that 13% of Black people make up the U.S. population and, within this small percentage, 8% work in corporate roles. A beauty company showing support for this movement is not true advocacy when they are contributing to the problem.  

“You cannot show us ‘Black Lives Matter’ publicly when you don’t show us ‘Black Lives Matter’ within your own home and organizations,” Chuter said.

According to The Cut, over 30 companies had pulled up within 72 hours. Sephora, Ulta, Tatcha, L’Oréal, Beauty Bakerie, and Kylie Cosmetics are to name a few. Even companies without any Black people in leadership roles revealed their numbers.

The results speak for themselves and that just lets us know that we have a lot of work to do. 

“Only transparency and accountability can drive change. We need to get to the tree of white supremacy and cut off all the branches. This is my branch. I know what goes on here. Only consumers can drive accountability,” Chuter said. 

What’s your branch, your stomping grounds where you can change.