e.l.f. Beauty unveils eye-catching campaign to make company boards more diverse
There are more men named “Dick” on public company boards in the U.S. than women or divese groups.
That’s according to e.l.f. Beauty which has launched an attention-grabbing media campaign, with the tongue-in-cheek name “So Many Dicks,” that calls for greater board diversity. Running through June 10 around New York City’s Financial District, including Fulton Street Station and The Oculus, on digital screens, the campaign features bold headlines calling out stats about current boards — and inviting others to learn about how diversity can drive profitability for everyone.
e.l.f. Beauty noted that it is one of only four U.S. publicly traded companies — out of 4,200-plus — with a board that's two-thirds women and one-third diverse. The fast-growing, inexpensive beauty brand has reported 20 consecutive quarters of net-sales growth. Company chairman and CEO Tarang Amin said he believes e.l.f.’s unique board makeup is helping fuel business growth.
“One of the most important things a diverse board does is bring in multiple viewpoints to make better decisions,’ said Amin. “At e.l.f. Beauty, empathy is part of our business model because it brings us closer to our community and the things people in the community care about. A diverse board also helps us stay culturally relevant among multiple affinities. It’s the unique combination and diverse school of thought that helps us lead innovation and brand demand in the industry.”
Working with purpose-driven agency Oberland, e.l.f. Beauty conducted research on corporate boards in the U.S. Among the findings: Men named Richard, Rick, or Dick (Dicks) serving on these public company boards outnumbered women and diverse groups.
To create the data, e.l.f. Beauty and Oberland identified and categorized the race and gender of each person serving on the boards of directors of U.S. based companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ using publicly available biographies, images, public statements and information provided in public filings. This included 36,957 existing board members across 4,429 publicly traded U.S. companies.
Once the data was in hand, the statistics were astounding, according to the company.
•There were 566 men named Richard, Rick, or Dick (Dicks) serving on these public company boards.
•Black women and Asian women barely outnumber men named Dick, with only 806 Black Women, 774 Asian Women.
•There were only 283 Hispanic women on these same boards, only half the number of “Dicks.”
•There are 19 times more men named Dick than the 29 women of Middle Eastern descent on these boards.
•There are only 3 Native American women serving on these boards compared to 566 men named Dick.
“e.l.f.’s commitment to diverse representation isn’t limited to within the four walls of our company,” said Kory Marchisotto, chief marketing officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “We want to normalize diversity. The aim of the data, the database and the compelling ad campaign is to invite others with us on this journey to drive real impact and help corporate boards more accurately reflect the world around us.”
e.l.f. kicked off the “Change The Board Game” initiative earlier this year when it announced a partnership with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and its sponsorship of 20 women and/or diverse board-ready candidates through NACD Accelerate, a unique, two-year program that creates a pathway for executives to prepare for board service. Each year, the U.S. typically sees around 3% growth of women and diverse candidates on corporate boards, but e.l.f. is aiming for 6% growth by 2027.