Our approach to diversity and inclusion

We’re committed to diversity, inclusion and equality, and we want to keep evolving and improving so we can help create a future that includes everyone.

So, how will we do this?

• As part of our diversity and inclusion plan, we will continue to make improvements across five key areas – our team, our products, our content, our education and our community.


• To that end, we want to elevate the voices of our team members , and so we have formed the MECCA Diversity Consultation Group, which includes team members from across Australia and New Zealand.


• We are working with independent diversity and inclusion experts so we can learn about and understand the best ways we can create meaningful change at MECCA. This includes Dr Emma Fulu, Founder of the Equality Institute, and Rona Glynn-McDonald, Founder of Common Ground and Director of YLab Global.


• We are proud members of Diversity Council Australia; an independent not-for-profit body advising on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and we will be leveraging their extensive research and knowledge.


• We will continue to gather knowledge and insight about changing demographics in our key markets of Australia and New Zealand. As an example, according to the 2018 New Zealand Census, there are six major ethnic groups in New Zealand; European (70.2%), Māori (16.5%), Asian (15.1%), Pacific peoples (8.1%), MELAA (Middle Eastern / Latin American / African) (1.5%), and ‘Other ethnicity’ (1.2%). We will use information like this to help us set appropriate benchmarks.

We’ve created this page so we can keep you updated as we progress on this journey. Below are our five key areas of focus, our proposed approach, and our actions to date.

Our team - supporting an inclusive workforce

We’re committed to ensuring our team reflects the diversity of our customers and our community.

So that we can better understand the demographics of our team, we have asked our team members to voluntarily share more information about themselves. We have updated our team member profile fields to allow current team members to update this information at any time, and this will also facilitate this data collection as new team members join. It is not compulsory for our team members to share this data with us – it is completely optional.

We developed these fields using insight from peak diversity bodies, including Diversity CouncilAustralia, the Australian Network on Disability, Pride in Diversity, and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. We have also utilised census data from the 2018 New Zealand Census.

Our products – Meeting everyone’s beauty needs

Our purpose is to make people look and feel their best, and an important part of this is offering products that meet everyone’s beauty needs.

Currently, of the 103 unique foundation lines offered by MECCA, we stock 100 per cent of the shades available for 72 of those lines, representing 33 brands. There is full availability online and the instore ranging varies depending on the store size and concept. Whilst there is a full representation of shades for a subset of foundation lines in store, we recognise the need to expand our offering where customer demand exists.

To that end:

• We made the commitment that by November 2020 we will have launched 10 new foundation lines, and we will stock 100 per cent of the shades on offer for all those lines. We have met this commitment and launched 10 new foundation lines from brands including Tom Ford, Estée Lauder and Morphe.


• We offer testers for all of the shades we stock for all foundation lines available in each store. Please note that foundation lines will vary from store-to-store due to the size of the store. Some testers have been delayed due to supply issues, which will be resolved in early 2021.


• By March 2021, mecca.com.au and meccabeauty.co.nz will offer all the shades available for all of the foundation lines that are stocked in each country.


• Work is underway to expand the shade range of MECCA MAX Life Proof foundation and concealers, with additional shades to be launched late 2021.


• We will continue to work in partnership with our brands to increase the breadth of shades displayed in store.


• We know it’s frustrating when customers receive samples that do not suit their complexion, so as a policy we do not send out complexion line shade samples with online orders.

Our content - Reflecting the many faces of MECCA

We have been working to increase the diversity shown in our marketing, advertising and social media imagery.

There are many faces of MECCA’s community, including our team members and our customers, and we want to show this diversity in all parts of MECCA.

We’re committed to working with a broad range of content creators, influencers, models and creatives to ensure our visuals provide a voice to people from a more diverse range of backgrounds, in a way that reflects the Australian and New Zealand populations.

Our education – Providing education to our team to support diversity and inclusion

We believe education is the most powerful step we can take towards achieving equality for all.

For all our team members, including our Support and Distribution Centre teams, we provide annual Respect in the Workplace training, which includes modules on bullying, harassment and discrimination so we can help our people learn about best practice in this space, and know how to identify and manage it in real-time.

We will expand our company-wide education offering to provide our team with the opportunity to educate themselves on issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. We will create a list of resources, including reading materials, which will be made available to all team members.

For all our team members in store, we have built an education program that represents a diverse demographic reflecting a broad range of skin complexions, gender identities, ages and more. We are also committed to ensuring our education tone of voice across all materials is inclusive.

However, in order to provide exceptional services to the many faces of our MECCA community, (be it a foundation match, a make-up application or skin- and hair-care advice), we need to ensure our team can build confidence by having ample opportunities to practice these skills. As a priority, we commit to working with MECCA’s Diversity Consultation Group and our Education team to understand and close the gaps and, also, how we can provide more support to our team through ongoing training.

Our community

Supporting Indigenous communities in Aotearoa

At Mecca, we are on a journey to learn more about Aotearoa’s indigenous people - Māori, and our founding partnership agreement - Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We are committed to building a long-term strategy and action plan, where the unique cultural capabilities that our Māori team members and customers innately possess are recognised and celebrated, whilst seeking to empower them to grow in their Māoritanga and thrive as Māori within our MECCA Community.

We acknowledge Māori as mana whenua and we want to continue to establish and strengthen our relationships with iwi Māori. We are grateful to be part of Aotearoa’s whānau and we celebrate the beautiful taonga that the Māori culture, heritage and language gives to us all.

Providing support to empower girls and young women through education

Established in 2017, MECCA M-Power is our philanthropic program that supports girls and young women from a range of backgrounds through education and mentoring. Since M-Power was created, MECCA has donated more than $2 million to organisations that are making a difference in this space.

Our vision is to create an equitable world where women and girls, regardless of background, can prosper and achieve their full potential. Our goal is to help 10,000 girls finish secondary school by the year 2025, and we will achieve this through our work with our long-term educational partners:

• In Zimbabwe and Zambia, we partner with CAMFED, a pan-African movement revolutionising how girls’ education is delivered.


• We partner with The Stars Foundation to assist First Nations young women in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria, so that they remain engaged at school, complete their final year and transition into an independent future.


• We partner with The Skyline Foundation in Victoria to support female students for their last two years of secondary school

Also, through our M-Power Mentoring Program, we partner with leading institutions to advance the careers of extraordinary women in under-represented industries, such as STEM, social enterprise, filmmaking and the arts.

We are so proud and excited to be supporting these initiatives as we build towards achieving our collective goal of a more equitable society both in Australia and globally.

We’re always interested in hearing about other opportunities within our industry that can help support diversity and inclusion, so send your suggestions to: m-power@mecca.com.au.

*Reference: New Zealand Census 2018.