Loreal Paris Reaffirms its commitment to Empowering Women around the World

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, L’Oréal Paris announced the 50th anniversary of its iconic tagline, “Because We’re Worth It.” For half a century, the brand has been relentless in its dedication to breaking down barriers. From pioneering science and innovations that empower women through beauty, to its diverse family of global Spokespeople, L’Oréal Paris continues to challenge stereotypes, giving women the confidence and power to take the place they deserve in society. Notably, the brand is reaffirming its commitment to protecting individual self-worth through its training program, Stand Up Against Street Harassment, which launched in India on November 2020 in partnership with the NGO Breakthrough. As revealed in a second survey conducted in partnership with Ipsos*, this initiative remains a priority, with one in three women having experienced sexual harassment in a public space in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, Global Brand President, L’Oréal Paris, “It seems unbelievable that our famous tagline is 50 years old, but our mission will only be accomplished once we no longer need to remind women of their worth. We are proud to continue our support for causes that fight discrimination – through programs like Stand Up Against Street Harassment – and that are key to breaking down the barriers, giving women the confidence and power to take the place they deserve in society and walk freely toward their destiny.”

Adding to this, Pau Gruart, General Manager, L’Oréal Paris India said, “In its 50^th year, our tagline, “Because We’re Worth It” remains as relevant as ever. Through programs like Stand Up that started last year, we are committed to fight against street harassment which sits at the crossroads of self-worth and women empowerment. Our ambition is to train 1 million people by 2022.”

A WORTHY CAUSE: STAND UP AGAINST STREET HARASSMENT

Because street harassment goes against everything L’Oréal Paris stands for, the brand launched the Stand Up Against Street Harassment program globally on November 2020, in partnership with Hollaback!, an international NGO that aims to end harassment of all forms and Breakthrough in India, which is an organisation that stands against violence on women. Stand Up is focused on raising awareness about street harassment and training 1 million people by 2021, with Hollaback’s “5D’s” methodology, a program to learn safely how to respond when you are being victim or witness of street harassment. To this day, 1,50,000 people have been trained with Stand Up. Currently activated in France, Spain, Argentina, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Italy and India with local charity partners*, the Stand Up Against Street Harassment program will grow to another 10 countries starting on March 8th, 2021, in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Ukraine, Israel, Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand and the Caribbean region. In partnership with local charity partners, further countries will roll out the program before the end of the year: Chili, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Brazil, Australia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. 

STREET HARASSMENT IN PUBLIC SPACES: A PRIORITY ISSUE DURING COVID-19

As a recent survey conducted in partnership with Ipsos revealed, street harassment remains a priority issue, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic began, one in three women have experienced at least one situation of sexual harassment (a startling figure given the condensed timeline), and one out of two respondents believe that the likelihood of being sexually harassed in a public space has increased and 42% of respondents have witnessed at least one incident of sexual harassment. Moreover, there is a clear need for more training and support: when individuals do not intervene in street harassment incidents, more than a quarter of respondents say it is because they don’t know what to do (and 34% say that if they had known what to do, they would have acted). Additionally, women report that they now adapt their behaviour more than before specifically to avoid sexual harassment: 75% avoid certain places (+10% compared to 2019), 59% adapt their clothing and appearance (+9% compared to 2020), and 54% avoid certain means of transportation (+10% compared to 2020)

These numbers reflect a new context that has ushered in a sense of widespread social anxiety: 72% of respondents think that wearing a mask allows the harassers to hide themselves and feel untouchable. In order to continue building safe and inclusive spaces for all, L’Oréal Paris and its spokes encourage the public to join the movement by getting trained on standup-international.com and share about the training on social networks, with a 5D’s hand sign and the hashtag #WeStandUp.