On 6th June 2023, the Chair students gathered at the  L'Oréal – Seine 62 campus for the final presentation of the projects that they had been tirelessly working on for the last 6 months. The ceremony started with a brief introduction by Jean Claude Le Grand and Junko Takagi. This was followed by the 4 presentations on DE&I strategies for brand expansion of NYX Professional Makeup.

All the presentations were not only very succinct and data-driven but also they were packed with stunning visuals, and engaging presentations leaving the jury comprising Margaret Johnston-Clarke, Eva Azoulay, Yann Joffredo and Zhiqiang Wang awestruck. Even though the competition was very intense, Team Prism for India emerged victorious. The day concluded with cocktails for everyone.

The Chair students will be eternally grateful to L'Oréal and ESSEC for providing them with this indelible opportunity of designing DE&I strategies for developing inclusive consumer experiences and broadening their horizons. 

On the occasion of the Women in Data Science Award, Prof. Junko Takagi participated in a roundtable on ‘Diversity as a level for Sustainable Innovation’ at 3M alongside Alicia Ortega Giménez-Cassina, R&D Operations and Innovation Center Leader at 3M and Valérie Perruchot Garcia, Directrice de la Communication, des Patients et de la RSE at Johnson and Johnson. The roundtable was organised by Eric Soyer, Corporate R&D Operations Leader ,3M-West Mediterranean Region and Véronique Delpla-Dabon, Sustainability & Community Relations Manager, 3M- West Mediterranean Region. The roundtable highlighted the role of diversity for innovation and showcased concrete gender initiatives in 3M and J&J. This year’s recipient of the 3M Women in Data Science Award was Irene Sunny, Master in Data Sciences and Business Analytics Student at ESSEC Business School & CentraleSupélec.  She was praised for her accomplishments, her ability to promote science, and her social commitment towards women's empowerment. This award helps support competent and motivated female students in data science and helps promote the inclusion of women in scientific professions and to guide them towards success. 

On 5th April 2023, the Leadership & Diversity Chair organised an LGBTQ+ roundtable on “Gender Expression in the Workplace: How Much is too much?” in collaboration with Unité ESSEC, L'Oréal and NYX Professional Make-up. The roundtable was launched with a welcome speech by Yann Joffredo, Global President at NYX Professional Makeup and featured prominent LGBTQ figures from all walks of life, including Vico Isoré (Leandre au Gin), Consultant at a top French firm, Drag King and ESSEC Alumni; Jean Louis Carvès, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Expert and Former D&I Engagement Partner at IBM; Clotilde Caille, Communication & Digital Director - American Brands (Maybelline New York, NYX Professional Make Up & Essie) and Rose Jing, an MIM student at ESSEC. The participants talked at length about their experiences, no holds barred. Jean Louis spoke about the trans-people he worked with at IBM and what IBM was doing for them to support their transition journey. Vico, who came out as trans non-binary in their workplace, exclaimed that even though they were socially accepted by their co-workers, they faced some HR issues with respect to their pronouns. Clotilde spoke about various campaigns organised by NYX to support gender-queer populations like sponsoring drag events in Paris and Rose shone light on the realities of being androgynous in a business school environment like discrimination within the queer communities and dealing with homophobic peers. Moreover, during the roundtable, renowned makeup artist Le Ménestrel who was sponsored by NYX Professional Makeup, gave a drag makeover to a volunteer from the audience.

Thus, the roundtable not only gave illimitable insights into the issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace but also it provided an important platform for the members of the LGBTQ community to voice their opinions.