DALLAS-- Mary Kay Inc., a global advocate for women’s empowerment, announced on Women's Entrepreneurship Day that it has officially become a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in the Asia Pacific region. In March 2019, Mary Kay Inc. took the first step in its WEPs journey, becoming a global signatory during the WEPs Forum held on the sidelines of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW63).

As Mary Kay marks its 60th anniversary, the company joins the WEPs to further position itself as a leader in women’s entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region where it is synonymous with unparalleled business opportunity, fostering a supportive workplace, and giving back to the community through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The WEPs provide a holistic framework for companies to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community and drive positive outcomes for society and business. Launched in 2010 by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are informed by international labor and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In a statement, Wendy Wang, President, Mary Kay Asia-Pacific Region said:

“Through pursuing its global WEPs journey that Mary Kay embarked on in 2019, today, in the Asia Pacific region, the company reaffirms its pledge to help accelerate the closing of the gender gaps in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Women’s empowerment’ goes beyond women’s career successes - it needs a holistic view, a roadmap toward measured progress and impact, as well as the engagement of all stakeholders including the private sector - and the WEPs are doing just that. At Mary Kay, we lead by enabling women from all walks of life with the right tools, mentorship, and education so they can make choices leading to a fulfilling and meaningful life for themselves, their families, and communities.”

In celebration of the WEPs milestone for Mary Kay in the Asia Pacific Region, Mary Kay China just released its first-ever Mary Kay China Empowering Women Impact Report titled, “Thinking Like A Woman.” The report operationalizes Principle 7: “Measurement and Reporting” and Principle 6: “Community Initiatives and Advocacy.”

WEPs in Action:

The report discloses Mary Kay China's work and results in women’s empowerment to achieve success through multiple approaches in leadership, marketplace, workplace, and community work. Future editions of the report will cover the pledge and impact of Mary Kay in other countries of the Asia Pacific region where it operates. Some of the following achievements encompassing the 7 WEPs Principles are highlighted in the report:

Long-time Leader and Global Advocate for Women’s Empowerment

· Mary Kay Asia-Pacific region becomes a WEPs signatory.
· Implements the “All For Her” development strategy to provide all-round support for the independent beauty consultants.

Empowering Women’s Through Business

· From 2022 to March 2023, 1,327,082 Independent Beauty Consultants participated in training sessions.
· From 2020 to 2022, Mary Kay invested more than RMB 80 million (Chinese Yuan) in the digital empowerment to develop online and offline business tools for beauty consultants.

A Great Place For Women To Work

· In 2022, the percentage of women among Mary Kay China’s executive team and employees were both 57%, while 64% of promoted employees were women.
· In 2022, 93% of Mary Kay China employees participated in training on project management, market trends and leadership, with per-person average of 1.6 training sessions, 6 hours of training time, and 1,500 RMB of training investment.

Giving Back to the Community

· As of April 2023, a total of 257,117 women have benefited from Mary Kay China’s CSR programs.
· In 2022, 1,267 Mary Kay China Independent Beauty Consultants and employees contributed over 9,000 hours of volunteer service in various capacities: serving as non-medical volunteers at a cleft lip and palate surgery center, helping clean their communities, or conducting complimentary beauty classes for charitable causes.