Our approach to inclusion and diversity

At MECCA, we’re committed to inclusion, diversity and equality, and we want to help create a future that includes everyone.

So, how will we do this?

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


• We are working with independent inclusion and diversity experts so we can understand the best ways we can create meaningful change at MECCA. These experts include Dr Emma Fulu, Founder of the Equality Institute, and Rona Glynn-McDonald, a proud Kaytetye woman and Founder of Common Ground.


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


• We are a founding member of the Australia Retail Association’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Advisory Committee which exists to shape the retail industry by advancing diversity, equality, and inclusion with aligned priorities and visible achievements.

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 them to share this data with us – it is completely optional.

We developed these fields using insight from peak diversity bodies, including Diversity Council Australia, the Australian Network on Disability, Pride in Diversity, and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. We have also utilised census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and demographic data from the Australian Human Rights Commission.

MECCA Diversity Consultation Group

Our MECCA Diversity Consultation Group, established in 2020, is a formal advisory group made up of team members from our stores across Australia and New Zealand, as well as our Support Centre in Victoria. This group meets monthly to provide feedback on MECCA initiatives and share their perspectives on inclusion and diversity within MECCA. Members of this group are remunerated for their contribution. To ensure that all perspectives have the opportunity to be represented, this group refreshes with new members after each term.

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.

Foundation lines

We made the commitment that mecca.com.au and meccabeauty.co.nz will range all of the shades available to the Australian and New Zealand region for all the foundation lines that are stocked in each country. We have met this commitment for 97 per cent of our foundation lines, and we are working closely with our remaining brands to achieve 100 per cent.

The MECCA MAX Life Proof foundation and concealers with additional shades were launched in October 2021 with 40 foundation shades and 25 concealer shades.

We know it’s difficult to shop online when you don’t know what shade is right for you. Therefore, we offer testers for all of the shades we stock for all foundation lines ranged in each store. Please note that foundation lines will vary from store-to-store due to the size of the store, the concept and availability.

In order to provide exceptional services to the whole MECCA community, be it a foundation match, a make-up application or skin and hair-care advice, we will ensure our team can continue to build confidence in these areas through the delivery of ongoing education.

Concealers

We made the commitment that by the end of December 2021, mecca.com.au and meccabeauty.co.nz would offer 100 per cent of the shades available to the Australian and New Zealand region for all the concealers franchises that are stocked in each country.

Currently, of the 59 unique concealer franchises offered by MECCA, we stock 100 per cent of the shades available for all franchises.

Tinted Moisturisers

We made the commitment that by the end of December 2021, mecca.com.au and meccabeauty.co.nz would offer 100 per cent of the shades available to the Australian and New Zealand region for all the tinted moisturiser franchises that are stocked in each country.

Currently, of the 14 unique tinted moisturiser franchises offered by MECCA, we stock 100 per cent of the shades available for all franchises.

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

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 INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

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

For all our team members, including our Support and Distribution Centre teams, we provide Respect in the Workplace training, which includes modules on bullying, harassment and discrimination.

We are expanding our company-wide education offering to include inclusion and diversity specific training for our team. This education will offer a mix of compulsory and elective modules.

For all our team members in store, we have built a broad educational offering 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.

OUR COMMUNITY

Supporting First Nations communities

As an important step in helping bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and to highlight the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian culture and history, MECCA has commenced work on developing our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

In developing our RAP, we’re working with MECCA’s Diversity Consultation Group, along with First Nations individuals and organisations. Through centering the voices of First Nations communities we can ensure we develop a RAP that will create meaningful change.

We are working to create ways to Acknowledge Country across our stores, Distribution Centre and Support Centre. This is an important step in increasing awareness of the role Traditional Owner groups and First Nations communities play in protecting Country across Australia, as well as recognising their enduring connections to knowledge systems and cultures that have been handed down since time immemorial.

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:

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


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


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

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: Australian Human Rights Commission analysis.