Stand Up And Stand Out
Laurent Duffier, Managing Director of L’Oréal Middle East, explains how the global cosmetics and personal care giant is supporting women across the region to overcome adversity and reach their potential.
L’Oréal has long been committed to empowering women and protecting and advocating their rights across the world. What programs has L’Oréal Middle East launched in the region to empower women?
Empowering women has been – and will continue to be – a cause that we are invested in both globally and locally. Our efforts to support this cause in the Middle East started a long time ago and we have launched several programs. One such program is Beauty For a Better Life, where we provide technical and vocational training to underprivileged women, enabling them to become certified beauty experts and gain access to employment.
Meanwhile, our flagship program, L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science, was launched 23 years ago globally and seven years ago in the GCC. Through this program, we recognize and celebrate phenomenal Arab women in the region for their exceptional research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Furthermore, in 2020, we launched YSL Beauty Abuse Is Not Love, a program to support and protect women who suffer from intimate partner violence in partnership with The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC). We also launched the L’Oréal Fund For Women to support women who are victims of the social and economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic to help them reintegrate back into society.
Last but not least, in October 2021, we hosted the largest Stand Up Against Street Harassment training run by L’Oréal Paris. Held at Expo 2020 Dubai, the event aimed to accelerate awareness of street harassment and encourage as many people as possible to join the movement to irradicate it.
Tell us more about the L’Oréal Paris Stand Up training. How many people attended the training at Expo 2020 Dubai and what was the objective ?
Women as well as men were invited to attend the L’Oréal Paris Stand Up Against Street Harassment training through a showstopping projection that dazzled spectators at Burj Khalifa on September 28. The training was the largest since the launch of the program as it reached 25,000 people, with 10,000 people trained on the day world-wide.
The training session was attended by L’Oréal Paris international spokespeople,
Aja Naomi King, Aishwarya Rai, Aseel Omran, and Mona Zaki. On December 8, we hosted another training session, this time led by L’Oréal Paris international spokesperson, Eva Longoria.
Through these training programs, the brand aims to create a space that supports women to empower and encourage each other as well as take charge in fighting for their place in this world.
The L’Oréal Fund For Women was launched during the pandemic. What is the vision behind this program and who are your partners in the region?
The pandemic has impacted women in disproportionate ways in the region and the world, further underscoring the inequalities that exist between genders and increasing the cases of domestic abuse. As part of L’Oréal’s 2030 sustainable development roadmap, which includes the L’Oréal for the Future program, the group launched the L’Oréal Fund For Women.
The €50 million ($56.6 million) endowment fund was introduced to alleviate the challenges that Covid-19 has presented to many women across the world.
In the GCC, we have partnered with two prominent non-profit NGOs – Shamsaha and DFWAC – as we feel the urge to help mitigate this social crisis and protect women victims of abuse and domestic violence.
Through our partnership with DFWAC, we are supporting the organization’s overarching mission of protecting women and providing them with a safe and healthy environment during turbulent times. As part of these efforts, we launched the Isolation Building
“Empowering women has been – and will continue to be – a cause that we are invested in both globally and locally.”
project to protect the beneficiaries and faculty by ensuring the continuity of DFWAC’s service while implementing high safety measures.
For its part, Shamsaha is the only organization of its kind in the region that provides 24/7 crisis support to victims of abuse and domestic violence, and we have helped it expand the on-theground and virtual operations of its crisis program into the U.A.E. and GCC. Shamsaha’s crisis program offers victims medical, therapeutic, and legal support as well as food, supplies, and transportation. The expansion also includes the further development of the organization’s mobile application, which will make virtual services more widely available to women in the region.
Regarding the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science initiative, how many female researchers has it funded in the region so far?
The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Middle East Regional Young Talents program started in 2014 and has become one of the most highly regarded initiatives in the region.
Based on the belief that the world needs science and science needs women, the program doesn’t only recognize exceptional women scientists but also funds their STEM research and helps improve the representation of women in science and enhance their careers.
The program in the GCC is held in partnership with Khalifa University and under the patronage of H.E. Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, U.A.E. Minister of State for Advanced Technology. To date, the program has recognized 35 phenomenal Arab female researchers from the U.A.E., Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
In Febuary 2022, and in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science at Expo 2020 Dubai, we will host the first ever L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science MENA awards ceremony. To be held at the Dubai Exhibition Center, the event will recognize and award the program’s 2021 winners from the GCC, Egypt, Morocco, and the Levant.