Our approach to inclusion and diversity

We’re committed to inclusion, diversity 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 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.


• 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 inclusion and diversity 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 inclusion and diversity 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 the 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.

Foundation lines

Last year we made the commitment that by the end of March 2021, 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 93 per cent of our foundation lines, and we aim to achieve 100 per cent by June 2021. Availability may vary and customers can opt to be notified when products are back in stock.

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

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 training.

Other complexion products

In addition to the above, we’re working on expanding the shade range across other complexion products this year. 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.

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 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 will be expanding our company-wide education offering to include inclusion and diversity specific training for our team. 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 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 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.