Latinas In Beauty Calls On The Beauty Industry To Pledge Support For Increasing Latina Representation And Impact

To boost the representation and influence of Latinas who over-index in beauty spending, the organization Latinas in Beauty is launching a petition calling on beauty industry executives and companies to amplify the presence of Latina-owned brands in stores, promote Latinas to senior-level positions and partner with Latina content creators.

The petition is spearheaded by Emily Perez, a principal scientist at L’Oréal who four years ago founded Latinas in Beauty, Nadine Tapia, founder and president of Tapia Beauty Group, owner of Pursuit Beauty and former president and CEO of Ole Henriksen, and Margarita Arriagada, founder of Valdé Beauty and former chief merchant at Sephora. It’s been welcomed by leading beauty companies and figures despite a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that’s diminishing funding for minority-owned brands and rolling back corporate programs for minority recruitment and advancement.

“We know we are coming in at a moment in which DEI is being threatened and yet we are doing it with heart and soul. We don’t want to be performative,” says Arriagada, secretary of Latinas in Beauty. “I’m happy to say that everyone has had open arms to evaluating the opportunities.”

The beauty companies and figures agreeing to Latinas in Beauty’s petition or what the organization describes as a “pledge for equity” understand the business potential of serving Latina consumers and employing Latina talent. Ulta Beauty, Rare Beauty founder Selena Gomez, Patrick Ta Beauty CEO Kimberly Villatoro, Rizos Curls founder and CEO Julissa Prado, Saie Beauty president Lucia Perdomo-Ruehlemann, Ceremonia founder and CEO Babba Rivera, Luna Magic Beauty co-founder and CEO Shaira Frías, QuickBox CEO Irene Montoya Scharmack and Beautyblender founder and CEO Rea Ann Silva have signed on to it.

“Emerging Latina-founded beauty brands and professionals are uniquely poised to meet the diverse needs of our community, enhancing the allure of our culture, beauty, and traditions,” says Perez, president and executive director of Latinas in Beauty, in a statement.  “We need to harness our collective power and champion these emerging brands and professionals, to turn the Latina beauty cohort into an economic and cultural triumph for all.”

Also in a statement, Silva says, “Empowering Latina voices isn’t just about representation—it’s about creating pathways to financial independence and industry leadership. By pledging our support for Latinas in Beauty, we can invest in Latina talent and unlock opportunities that diversify the industry and enable Latinas to thrive as creators, innovators, and leaders in the beauty space.”

The largest minority group in the United States at around 64 million people, Latinos account for roughly 20% of the country’s population and are on pace to account for a quarter of the population by 2050. Market research firm NielsenIQ pegs Hispanics’ buying power in the U.S. at $2.4 trillion, an amount larger than Canada’s economy.

In 2023, NielsenIQ approximated that Hispanics make up 14.1% of U.S. beauty households, but 16.4% of the beauty dollars spent. Research from Nielsen in 2020 showed Latinas spend $167 annually on beauty compared to $135 annually by general population consumers. In a report on Latinas in corporate America, the nonprofit LeanIn.Org found a mere 1% of C-suite executives are Latinas.

“We don’t want to be performative.”

Arriagada acknowledges the absence of a commitment to a specific percentage increase in Latina representation on shelf and in management in Latinas in Beauty’s petition is a relief to the companies and executives signing on to it. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, accessories designer Aurora James started the Fifteen Percent Pledge in 2020 urging retailers to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury are Fifteen Percent Pledge signatories, and while Black-owned brands have made significant progress scoring shelf space, some have struggled to stay in stores.

“What’s most important for us is the quality of how we are moving the needle as opposed to getting to a number,” says Arriagada. “There’s such a demand from our community for representation, not just on retail shelves, but across the board in every single business sector. We want them to know we are united, and there are people coming together with the resources and strategy to move the needle.”

Although it may have the highest visibility, the petition is only one of many efforts by Latinas in Beauty to move the needle for Latinas in the beauty industry. After being established as a for-profit networking entity, Latinas in Beauty has become a nonprofit and is managing a professional beauty program to foster the growth of Latina beauty professionals, a beauty entrepreneur program to offer tools and resources to Latina entrepreneurs, a summit to celebrate the achievement of Latinas in beauty and an accelerator for Latina brand founders in collaboration with Pepperdine University.

Membership in Latinas in Beauty costs $35 monthly. The organization is turning to Arriagada, Perez and Tapia’s connections and the Latina community to erect its infrastructure. It tapped Bree Jensen from The Social Impact Firm for nonprofit expertise, Jhoanna Flores from Willa Creative for creative design and Yuma Bella Noir from Dubón 8 for website and member platform development.

Latinas in Beauty’s summit is being planned for next year. In the spring next year, guided by Tapia, treasurer of Latinas in Beauty, its accelerator is slated to kick off with a 12-week curriculum and 15-member cohort of entrepreneurs.

“What we are trying to do is provide a way for entrepreneurs to enter the world of business or enter a retailer in a more healthy way,” says Tapia. “There’s been a lot of brands that have been given a chance. Not all of them make it. With our community and how we are building this, it’s providing them resources to be prepared to really grow their businesses.”

Arriagada says, “I am hoping a year from now that you know who we are and that we will have big numbers in terms of our membership, the community is thriving, and we begin to be a force and leverage our community. I would love to see improved representation on shelf next year. Yes, it’s going to take time, but the Latina community is raising its voice and putting out strategies to make things happen.”