Pull up or shut up. That is the name of the game for UOMA Beauty CEO and founder Sharon Chuter, who’s calling on brands to release the number of their Black employees — specifically in leadership roles.
For change to truly come, accountability must be held. And to Chuter, that means brands of all industries admitting their contribution to racism and how their current definition of “support” is not enough. On June 3, Chuter posted a video to her Instagram feed explaining her awe at brands supporting Black Lives Matter causes and started her rally for the 72-hour Pull Up or Shut Up campaign.
“Now over the last few days, we’ve seen something that’s never happened before, where brands and corporations are publicly showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, including making huge donations and going black yesterday,” Chuter said. “And for this, we thank you.”
Chuter further explained that brands and companies haven’t absolved themselves of their role in oppressing Black people. She additionally alludes to the support as being simply for public optics.
“Now what we need to do is ask these companies over the next 72 hours to release the number of Black people that they have employed in corporate roles as well as leadership roles,” Chuter said.
Since Chuter posted, she has created a Pull Up for Change Instagram page (which has amassed over 60,000 followers since it went live), asking consumers to hold all spending for 72 hours until brands have released their numbers.
Black beauty influencers like Nyma Tang and Jackie Aina have posted support of the campaign on their own Instagram pages.
Since the post, brands have been posting up their numbers and being fully transparent. And the sad truth is, some brands don’t have the best executive Black employee numbers to back up their public support of the marginalized community.
However, there are brands that have shown a fair amount of Black employees in leadership roles, and brands that are lacking in Black leadership are publicly listing ways they intend to improve. These are the brands that are pulling up for change.
1. Uoma Beauty
Uoma Beauty’s leadership team is 50 percent Black, 75 percent POC, and 15 percent white.
2. E.L.F. Cosmetics
E.L.F Cosmetics revealed its figures as 70 percent women and “45 percent diverse.” A further breakdown from the brand shows that the company employs 1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, 17 percent Asian, 7 percent Black, 14 percent Hispanic or Latinx, 7 percent two or more races and 55 percent white.
3. Milk Makeup
Milk shared that it does not have any Black employees at the executive level. The breakdown of the team is 9 percent African Caribbean/African American, 9 percent Asian/Asian American, 14 percent Hispanic/Latinx and 68 percent white.
4. PUR
Pur Cosmetics tagged Pull Up for Change and shared a post, revealing the brand’s executive leadership team is led by Tisha Thompson, a Black woman. Plus, the brand’s team is made up of 30 percent Black people (17 full-time individuals). 77 percent of the company identifying as women and 33 percent identify as male.
5. Mented Cosmetics
Mented Cosmetics, a Black woman-owned beauty brand, joined in Pull Up for Change. The brand announced “our Executive Team is 100% Black, our Board is 75% Black.”
6. Versed Skincare
Versed skincare shared its company makeup in which 31 percent is POC, 6 percent of the team is Black and 14 percent of the executive team is Black. However, Versed listed course of action to take steps to improve both Black representation and leadership.
7. Wet N’ Wild
Markwins, who owns Wet n’ Wild, Physician’s Formula, Black Radiance and Lorac pulled up with a breakdown of 27.5 percent Asian and Pacific Islander, and 25 percent African American of the four brand executives
8. Beauty Bakerie
This Black woman-owned brand, Beauty Bakerie, was one of the firsts to order foundations from dark to light. The brand’s executive team is 75 percent Black and the brand’s Board of Directors is also 60 percent Black.
9. Miss A
$1 makeup brand Miss A posted its make up of 34.2 percent Asian lineage, 32.6 percent Hispanic/Latin lineage, 14.7 percent Black, 15.2 percent white and 3.3 percent other.
10. Farsali
Though Farsali is a small family business of executives, the rest of the team is made up of 25 percent Asian, 25 percent Black and 50 percent white employees.
11. Huda Beauty
Huda Beauty pulled up with 63 percent POC, 80 percent women, 13 percent Black and the brand’s Board of Directors are only family and investors.
12. Universal Standard
The size-inclusive fashion Universal Standard did not tag Pull Up for Change, but did share on Instagram that of the 25 employees at Universal Standard, and of the people of color, only one is Black. Furthermore, they are not in an executive or marketing position. The brand is donating $10,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and plans to donate all sales from June 4 and June 5.
13. CocoKind
Cocokind tagged Chuter and posted its improvement from 2019 to 2020. As of June 2020, the brand now has one Black person on its corporate team. Additionally, it has one Native American, three Latinx people, three more white people, and three more Asian/Asian Americans.
14. Kinship
Kinship shared a post stating that 100 percent is women-identifying, but “in full transparency, we do not have Black employees yet.”
15. Paula’s Choice
Paula’s Choice only has 2 percent of Black employees, none of which are at the corporate level. However, the brand is taking steps to work with Black-owned brands and organizations to improve the amount of Black people in executive positions.
16. The Lip Bar
The Black-owned brand The Lip Bar also came in with its numbers for Pull Up for Change being 100 percent women and 85 percent Black.
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