Motivating men to stay healthy in all areas of life
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) is a values-driven organization with actions rooted in the Lauder family values of respect for the individual, uncompromising ethics and integrity, generosity of spirit, and fearless persistence.
ELC recognizes that Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) are natural extensions of its values and must be embedded in our culture and business strategy. As a global company made up of over 82% women, it is in this spirit of leveraging ID&E extensions that ELC created the Men’s Employee Resource Group (MERG), whose mission is to leverage men's perspectives to drive strategic objectives for the company and to empower employees through professional development and philanthropic initiatives.
Since 2017, MERG has supported Movember, the leading charity changing the face of men’s health, through fundraising and interactive programming – all to bring awareness to the issues that affect men’s health and to empower men to feel more comfortable talking often and openly about their physical and mental health.
To celebrate the MERG team’s fifth year of supporting the Movember Foundation, ELC and Movember are proud to announce that ELC is now a part of the 2021 Movember Business Club (MBC). By joining the MBC, ELC will play a key role in championing Movember’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer, and in addition, help Movember fund world-class programs that are making a tangible difference in the lives of men and their families.
In addition to becoming an official MBC partner, MERG had an exciting roster of Movember 2021 events for ELC employees that went beyond the goal of fundraising and helped drive awareness to issues that affect men’s health. These events sparked meaningful dialogue about topics that affect specific communities of men, including an important conversation on men’s health and how Black men are disproportionately impacted by Prostate Cancer, as well as a discussion about the changing roles of men at home and their impact on mental health.
“At The Estée Lauder Companies, we are committed not only to bringing awareness to the harrowing issues that affect men’s health, but also to motivating men to stay healthy in all areas of life. We are proud to join the 2021 Movember Business Club list to further our efforts,” said Michael W. Smith, Chief Information Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies and Executive Sponsor of MERG. “Alongside the Movember foundation, we can help to make a change on a global scale.”
MERG plans to engage ELC employees with Movember events throughout the 2022 calendar year. Of this extension in programming, Tony Dorsey, Director, Integrated Marketing and Co-Chair of MERG, said: “By holding events beyond the month of Movember, we’re continuing to drive further awareness of men’s health issues, while at the same time, inviting our ERG community and colleagues into a space to understand the gravity of these issues, to connect about their unique or shared experience, and to engage in a dialogue of solutions."
As a beauty-inspired, values-driven company, ELC remains committed to empowering employees to drive social impact across the business and in the communities where they live and work. The ELC MERG team's support of Movember is an example of this impact in action, and together, they will help to change the face of men’s health.