Global Inclusive Culture Initiatives at AVON

“Beauty Democracy guides our commitment to inclusive culture”

At Avon we have been championing an inclusive culture globally, embedding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into our core values and strategies. 

The company’s DEI ethos “beautiful to be you” reflects a commitment to ensure all team members – especially those from traditionally underrepresented communities – feel safe, accepted, supported and able to thrive at work. 

Avon explicitly enforces a zero-tolerance policy for harassment or discrimination on any basis (such as sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, race, religion, or age) and pledges to honor all family structures equally in its policies. Where domestic and national law may not be aligned with international human rights standards, we commit to the higher standard unless explicitly illegal to do so. 

Recent Inclusive Culture Initiatives

In the past year, Avon has accelerated several DEI projects globally to strengthen its inclusive culture. One significant initiative was partnering with CoachHub, a digital coaching platform, to support employee development with a DEI lens. Through this program, employees who took part received personalised coaching to help them build skills and confidence. This kind of coaching investment aims to enhance inclusive leadership behaviours among managers and boost the advancement of women and minority talent. Another key effort has been hosting culture workshops to reinforce inclusive behaviours. 

Avon also ran a “People & Culture Hackathon” in 2023, engaging over 1,000 associates globally in brainstorming ideas to improve inclusion and sustainability in the business. Participants submitted suggestions and voted on favourites, leading to new initiatives (such as monthly sustainability webinars and embedding the company's volunteering programme). The hackathon format energised employees around inclusion, as team members from different regions and backgrounds worked together on solutions – a clear sign of an engaged, inclusive workforce.

“Avon Days” became another cornerstone of employee engagement and inclusion. These days are dedicated to bringing teams together to discuss and celebrate Avon’s culture and embed the company's behaviours and values across all markets. According to internal pulse surveys after these events, employees reported feeling more “connected” and “proud to work at Avon” as a result of Avon Days, indicating these are key moments helping to nurture an inclusive, one-team culture.

Meanwhile, Avon’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have been active and growing in the last year. Both Avon’s Women’s Network and newly formed Care Circle (focused on parents and caregivers), have hosted engaging and valuable sessions for colleagues this year – engaging guest speakers, holding space for open conversation and offering the opportunity to help shape future policies and initiatives. 

Avon's holistic approach – combining external expertise (Coach Hub coaching), internal education (culture workshops, Real Talks), celebratory events (Avon Days), and grassroots ERG energy – is helping to embed DEI into everyday life at Avon.

Allyship, Inclusive Leadership & Psychological Safety

Allyship at Avon is a principle modelled by leadership and encouraged among employees. Avon believes that creating an inclusive environment is everybody’s responsibility and the company is a strong ally to underrepresented groups. 

A big focus has been on building inclusive leadership capabilities and a culture of psychological safety. In 2023, Avon trained its leadership extensively on these topics: 272 senior leaders attended Psychological Safety training workshops designed to help them foster a climate where everyone feels safe to speak up, share ideas, and be their authentic selves. 

Kristof Neirynck, Avon’s CEO, shares that “you need to create an environment of psychological safety which allows anyone to come up with a solution to a problem without being shot down. This is the only way to encourage growth.”

Avon’s leadership philosophy emphasises humility and approachability – leaders are expected to be good listeners and allies so that employees at every level have the courage to express ideas without fear. By training managers in inclusive behaviours and encouraging humble leadership, Avon is committed to helping ensure every team member feels valued and heard.

Employee engagement and ally participation are also key indicators of Avon’s inclusive culture.

The company’s employee engagement surveys show high scores – as of 2024, 73% of employees globally reported being happy working at Avon, 83% said they felt supported by their managers, and 81% shared that they found their work meaningful. 

These positive results reflect initiatives like Avon’s “Real Talk” open forums, where difficult topics are discussed candidly. (For example, a “Real Talk – Pride Edition” session held at Avon’s headquarters featured employees sharing personal LGBTQIA+ stories, explaining the importance of pronouns, and demonstrating allyship in action within a “Beauty Democracy” workplace. Except in those countries where rights and celebration of LGBTQIA+ is prohibited by law.

Such candid conversations, along with D&I updates and education campaigns, help cultivate psychological safety and ally engagement at the grassroots level. Avon’s philosophy is that inclusion must be both top-down and bottom-up – championed by leaders but also embraced and driven by employees in their daily interactions.

Women Empowerment

Avon’s women’s empowerment strategy is multi-faceted: Committed to ensuring equal representation in leadership, pay equity, talent development programs, flexible work culture, pioneering health policies (menopause, etc.), robust parental benefits, and purpose-driven advocacy for women’s issues.

For 139 years, empowering women has been at the heart of what Avon stands for. Avon’s very business model supports economic empowerment, and around 2 million Avon Representatives sell Avon products directly to their customers or online. Avon supports and empowers Representatives with the tools, training opportunities and networks to help them earn and learn in their own way. In 2024, Avon revamped their digital training platform, Avon Academy, in 31 countries. This provided 300 new learning pathways covering beauty, digital, sales and marketing skills. 

Our Flexible Working Philosophy empowers every team member to work in a way that works for them and Avon, so they can perform at their best. As long as employees meet their goals and coordinate with their teams, they have leeway in when and where they work. This trust-based flexibility has been critical for all employees who often juggle work and home responsibilities. 

Avon also introduced a Menopause Policy to foster a supportive environment for employees going through menopause or perimenopause. This policy aims to reduce the stigma around menopause, raise awareness, and equip managers and colleagues with knowledge and tools to help. 

Concretely, Avon provides reasonable workplace accommodations for menopausal symptoms – for instance, adjusting office temperature or seating (like positioning someone near air conditioning or providing a fan), offering quiet spaces to manage symptoms, or facilitating remote work on tough days. Avon’s policy also ensures flexible scheduling is available, recognising that insomnia, fatigue, or anxiety can impact women’s work. Managers are encouraged to accommodate requests such as more frequent breaks, temporarily adjusted hours, or work-from-home days during symptom flare-ups. Perhaps most groundbreaking, Avon introduced a Paid Menopause Leave benefit: employees experiencing severe menopausal symptoms can take up to 5 additional paid days off, specifically for menopause-related needs.

In addition to menopause support, Avon has strong parental support policies to empower working mothers (and fathers). We offer parental and adoption leave ,which highlights not just leave but also a “phased back to work” program, allowing new parents to transition back to work gradually. 

As part of Avon’s promise to help end violence against women and girls, and create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment, we introduced our policy and protocol against Gender-based violence, This policy applies to all Avon employees and ensures that through our programmes and partnerships, everyone has access to resources, specialised support. This policy also includes paid leave and flexible work offerings, should it be requested for affected individuals to address their circumstances. Our Allies Against Abuse ERG is trained to recognise and respond appropriately to gender-based violence. It is available for colleagues to get in touch if and when they would like to share experiences, report or ask questions. Our Allies ambassadors will support colleagues by offering a non-judgmental, confidential safe space to talk, and signpost them to appropriate internal or external resources or support if requested. 

Beyond internal policies and initiatives, Avon has contributed significantly to women’s causes externally. The company has donated over $1.1 billion to breast cancer and gender-based violence causes that empower and educate women and girls, and create safe spaces for them, through decades of philanthropy. 

Avon’s associates take pride in these efforts, often participating in fundraising and awareness events. In 2023–2024, Avon continued to raise funds via product campaigns (e.g. a limited-edition collection for International Women’s Month where proceeds go to women’s charities. Such initiatives reinforce to employees that the work they do at Avon resonates with a higher purpose - advancing women’s equality.

Breast cancer survivor Sarah Priestly shares her story 

Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Avon is equally committed to empowering people with disabilities, both as employees and as customers. The company’s approach is to create a workplace where associates of all abilities can succeed by providing the right support and eliminating bias. One cornerstone is Avon’s PossAbility Associate Resource Group, which advocates for inclusion and disabled employees (and caregivers/allies) a collective voice to recommend improvements. 

A key element of Avon's disability inclusion is providing individualised support plans for employees who disclose a disability or health condition. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, Avon’s HR and management teams collaborate with the individual to understand their unique needs. This could result in workplace adjustments such as modified duties, special equipment, altered schedules, or extra rest breaks. If someone needs adaptive tools (ergonomic chairs, screen magnifiers, voice-to-text software, etc.), Avon’s IT and facilities departments strive to provide them. These support plans are documented and reviewed periodically, ensuring that the accommodations remain effective as an individual’s situation evolves.

Avon also addresses hiring bias to ensure candidates with disabilities get equal opportunities. Recruiters receive training on inclusive hiring practices, which includes unconscious bias training, recognising and avoiding biases or assumptions about a candidate’s abilities. 

Avon’s recruitment materials encourage people with disabilities to apply, often stating that workplace adjustments can be made to support them. In some regions, Avon has started using more accessible application processes (ensuring online application forms are screen-reader friendly, for example). By actively working to “de-bias” each stage of hiring (from diverse interview panels to focusing on skills over physical ability unless job-critical), Avon strives to increase the representation of employees with disabilities in its workforce. 

In terms of policy, Avon’s global inclusion position explicitly references equal treatment and support for disabled employees. The company’s Code of Conduct and “We’re open to all” principle mandate that there be no discrimination based on disability and that full participation is enabled wherever possible. Practically, this has meant that Avon sometimes exceeds local legal requirements. For example, if domestic law doesn’t mandate certain building accessibility, Avon may still invest in it to meet higher international standards, aligning with its commitment to human rights and inclusion. 

While Avon continues to learn and improve (inclusion is a journey, as the company acknowledges, its projects and policies have significantly improved the experience of disabled individuals in its workforce. From hiring to advancement, Avon aspires to provide a level playing field. The ultimate measure of success is representation and employee sentiment, and with the PossAbility ARG active and an increasing number of employees feeling comfortable to self-identify and request support, Avon is moving in the right direction.

Future Plans and Global DEI Initiatives

Gender Parity

While Avon is open to everyone, we’re proud to have a largely female workforce. In 2024, we fell slightly short of our goal to have 50% women in our senior leadership. This is due to organisational changes and employee turnover, but we remain committed to this target. All our associates receive at least the Living Wage. We’re also pleased to have an unexplained gender pay gap of under 1%. However, we aren’t complacent and continue to have a strong focus on pay equity.

LGBTQIA+ Inclusion

We celebrated Pride Month 2024 across our global teams, reaffirming our support for LGBTQIA+ associates and communities. Building on this momentum, we will continue to champion LGBTQIA+ inclusion in 2025 and beyond through our Pride Associate Resource Group and related initiatives. Except in those countries where rights and celebration of LGBTQIA+ is prohibited by law. 

Mental Health & Well-Being

In 2024, we placed a strong emphasis on mental health, marking events like World Mental Health Day by sharing personal stories from our associates to foster openness and support. We continue to cultivate a workplace culture that prioritises well-being and encourages conversations around mental health.

Global Commitments

We remain actively engaged in external partnerships, including over 30 NGO’s, globally. We also uphold the United Nations LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business, reinforcing a culture of respect and inclusion in all markets where we operate. Except in those countries where rights and celebration of LGBTQIA+ is prohibited by law.

Inclusive Supply Chain and Products

We are expanding our diversity and inclusion efforts beyond our workforce. This includes working with a range of suppliers and partners to broaden economic inclusion, as well as diversifying our product offerings to better serve our broad base of customers. These steps help toward ensuring that inclusivity is embedded not just in our workforce, but across our business value chain. 

Empowering Communities

We continue to evolve our social impact programs to empower women in communities around the world. In developing markets, for example, we continue to support initiatives that provide women with education, job training, and economic opportunities to help lift them out of poverty. By investing in women’s skills and independence, we strengthen families and communities while growing our business impact.

The future for Avon’s DEI strategy is dynamic and action-oriented. And with the full backing of the CEO and leadership team, who explicitly view people and culture as top priorities, Avon’s DEI journey will likely keep breaking new ground. 

By building on its 2023–2024 achievements and pushing further, Avon aims to remain a place where every employee can truly bring their whole self to work and feel empowered. 

The ultimate vision is an Avon culture where inclusion is so embedded that it naturally fuels innovation, engagement, and growth, helping Avon thrive as a “Beauty Democracy” that reflects and serves the diverse world around it.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TDX Consulting or the Workplace in Action® program. The content and ideas presented by the authors are their personal opinions and should not be considered the official policy or stance of TDX Consulting or the Workplace in Action® program.