Avon Products Inc. recently launched stand4her, a global plan to tackle some of the greatest barriers holding women back from achieving their full potential.
As part of the business strategy to “Open Up Avon,” stand4her aims to improve the lives of 100 million women a year by standing for: the freedom to work on your own terms and in your own way; the power of beauty; safe and healthy lives. It is being launched in response to new research, commissioned by Avon with input from Oxford Economics, which shows that despite the global increase in flexible working patterns, women still feel they are held back from running their own businesses. This underpins projections that women’s economic potential is being limited by as much as 50 percent, creating a potential loss to annual global GDP of $12-28 trillion per year.
One of the first major initiatives in the 10+ year plan is the launch of the Avon Academy, which will train 500,000 entrepreneurs every month, enabling more women around the world to earn money, in their own way and on their own terms. The Academy will be one of the largest training programs in the world and will provide women with lifelong learning and flexible development opportunities, delivered through a combination of online videos, interactive learning modules and peer support.
“Stand4her is what we do, every day; it’s what we’ve been doing for over 130 years,” said Jan Zijderveld, Avon CEO. “We’re reigniting Avon’s strong sense of purpose and doubling down on our efforts to support women and provide more meaningful and rewarding opportunities for our beauty entrepreneurs. Today female economic participation in the workforce remains below that of men, but we can be an agent of change, challenges ingrained barriers and open up opportunities. With 100 million women who work with us and buy from us around the world, and millions more in the communities in which we operate, Avon has a critical role, alongside other partners, to make a real and lasting impact.”
To learn more about stand4her, click here.
