Pull Up or Shut Up!
References: Gabby Shacknai, FORBES & Tira Urquhart, BET
Uoma Beauty Founder & TCG tribe member Sharon Chuter calls corporate America out in the name of Black MLives Matter, equity & resolution!
As the world responds to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other black men and women whose lives were cut short, brands big and small have taken to social media to share their support for the black community and in many cases, to announce donations to organizations fighting racial injustice. While these actions are undoubtedly steps in the right direction, Sharon Chuter, founder and CEO of UOMA Beauty, believes that if brands actually want to drive change, they must turn their solidarity into action within their own companies.
“The trigger for me was seeing all these brands post for George Floyd and blacking out their Instagram on Tuesday,” explains Chuter. “And I just thought, why are you absolving yourselves of the role you’ve played in creating this problem? How are you not seeing the connection between your depriving people of color of economic opportunities and the oppression?”
For years, the beauty entrepreneur has been calling out the industry’s lack of representation of people of color and especially of black people but to no real avail. “When this whole thing happened, it seemed like for the first time, the world was listening and wanted to care,” she says. “They all posted things like, ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have taken the side of the oppressor,’ but don’t invoke the words of Desmond Tutu if you’re not going to follow them. I thought, if they really want to care, they can help destroy this system of oppression completely.” Chuter knew that in order for this to happen, businesses would have to direct their attention inwards and ensure that the equality they preach is present within their own organizations.
UOMA BEAUTY DOUNDER & CEO, SHARON CHUTER - GETTY IMAGES FOR TEEN VOGUE
According to the UOMA Beauty founder, only 8% of people employed in white-collar professions are black, and only 3.2% of those folks are in executive or senior management level roles, despite the fact that black adults account for 13% of the U.S. population and college-educated black adults make up 10% of the population. “We want brands to get their numbers up to reflect this, but the first step is accountability, and only the public can hold brands accountable,” Chuter says. “So, if the whole world is going to come together and say Black lives matter, then let’s make Black lives matter. Let’s stop talking about it. Talk is cheap. You can’t say Black lives matter if you don’t have any Black employees in your office.” And with that in mind, she launched “Pull Up or Shut Up,” a campaign that, with the help of consumers’ demands, asks brands to release the total number of black employees at their companies and to identify the levels at which those employees sit.
The campaign went live on Wednesday with a plan to give brands 72 hours to “pull up” voluntarily before calling out and targeting specific companies. “For 72 hours, we invited them to pull up, and we played nice,” Chuter says. The movement gained momentum immediately, amassing an Instagram following of more than 35,000 in the first three days, and by the time the 72 hours ended, dozens of major brands, including Glossier, L’Oreal, and Ulta Beauty, had responded, posting their employee numbers and pledging to improve their black participation.
“Be conscious that to piggyback off a trending hashtag when you have been and continue to be a part of the problem is once again appropriating and exploiting the Black community,” reads the campaign’s open letter on Instagram. “You all have statements and policies about being equal opportunity employers, so show us the proof.”
Since posting her video on Wednesday, June 2nd a plethora of brands, have come through with their stats. Kylie Cosmetics reported that their staff is 13% Black, and 47% Bi-racial people of color.
While the initial call was for 72 hours post statements, brands are continuing to pull up. The big powerhouse ULTA reported 18% Blackboard members and 13% Black executive team leaders, while Sephora reported 45% of people of color in corporate offices, with 6% being Black. L'Oreal, a self-proclaimed company for multicultural women, reported 7% in corporate positions and 8% at the executive level is black. Since L'Oreal owns juggernaut brands like Maybelline, Essie, Carol's Daughter and Kiehl's, any increase at these brands would make a sizable difference in the lives of many black people.
This goes beyond the beauty industry. Currently, challenges have been issued to Fashion Nova and Nike without any comment from the brands.
We need to continue to hold brands accountable. Black spending power is worth 1.2 trillion dollars, so these companies must value us as such.
Who would you like to see #pulluporshutup?! Comment below and be sure to follow the movement on Instagram: @pullupforchange