Just when you thought “big business” was finally behaving themselves and taking diversity seriously, something comes along and rocks the foundation all over again.

Cosmetics giant L’Oreal has decided to circle the corporate wagons and chose to try to silence one of their high ranking executives, an African Woman from Johannesburg, South Africa, who lifted the veil to expose the truth. Reportedly, L’Oreal Johannesburg issued an employment equity report in which they stated that they had 30 Africans in senior level positions when in fact they really had only 4. The company then became angry when Dudu Tshabalala, 40, the first black woman to be appointed to the group’s executive committee, stood up and publicly told the truth. It was only after she raised questions that the company re-released the report with the correct number. Ms. Tshabalala was then suspended for what L’Oreal calls “an untenable work situation”. And the kicker is this is the second time she was suspended. Apparently her superior, managing director Phillipe Raffray, and Ms. Tshabalala have a rather tumultuous working relationship.

Dudu Tshabalala isn’t just some trouble making employee. She was the first Black Woman to make it to L’Oreal’s executive committee, an astounding feat in itself. She is a high achiever, climbing the corporate ladder  making her way straight to the top as a loyal employee of the company. As a manager in the diversity group, she has even represented the company at key events that focused on diversity.

While all of the details of this story are still being investigated and reviewed, it still hits on the point that the diversity conversation still needs to be held. Whether here in the United States, or in South Africa or any place where multi-national companies have a presence, there continues to be discrimination of epic proportions.  Some would argue that Ms. Tshabalala was in a cushy situation (being the first Black Woman to hold such a high ranking position in her division) and should have kept quiet. I contend that we all have a responsibility no matter what level or title to uphold the truth. As much as people would like to claim we are in a post racial world, it just simply isn’t true. Things are better than they were 20 years ago, but we are far from a Utopian paradise where everyone gets along.

It’s bad enough the cosmetics industry isn’t exactly known for racial diversity in their products or their staff. This is an incident that I hope they handle appropriately going forward. They could stand to lose some customers if it’s not resolved and corrected properly. Consumers of color are watching.

If corporate giants like L’Oreal are lying on their reports, it stands to reason that there are other companies lying as well. Honestly speaking, we can just look at the organization charts and see the glaring disparities in diverse representation. This is just as much about ethnic diversity as it is about telling the truth.  If companies are lying about stats, what else are they lying about. I hope for the sake of big business that they are not reverting back to their old ways of discrimination. It’s up to the people, the every day workers and consumers, to stay vigilant and call out any inconsistencies and inequities.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
Publisher