The 2025 SeeMe Inclusivity Index highlights main magnificence manufacturers which have demonstrated constant and significant inclusivity efforts, with e.l.f. Magnificence, Dove, and Maybelline topping the record. The index, which evaluates manufacturers based mostly on their dedication to illustration in advertising, product growth, and purpose-driven initiatives, affords a complete take a look at business progress and areas for enchancment.
In regards to the SeeMe Index
Launched in 2023 by Asha Shivaji and Jason R. Klein, the SeeMe Index offers data-driven insights into consumer-facing DEI efforts by objectively measuring model inclusivity by way of accountable AI. Drawing from their expertise as former Google executives, Shivaji and Klein developed the index to handle business challenges in quantifying inclusive advertising efforts.
The SeeMe Index serves as a framework for manufacturers to evaluate and improve inclusivity in advertising and public communications. By providing benchmarks and insights, it goals to supply an evidence-based method for manufacturers to set and obtain inclusivity targets.
Key differentiators of inclusive manufacturers
In an interview with CosmeticsDesign, Klein shared that a significant factor that units inclusive manufacturers aside is their capability to combine inclusivity all through all features of their enterprise. “What differentiates licensed inclusive manufacturers from their opponents is consistency,” he defined.
He famous that “there’s a misperception that with a purpose to be an inclusive model, you must be a model for everyone,” and dispelled that understanding as merely “not true—every model has distinctive aims and model progress methods, however the checkbox train of that includes somebody ‘various’ in an advert just isn’t going to chop it anymore.“
As a substitute, he clarified, “these manufacturers are holistically inclusive, that means if somebody of a sure id group is featured in advertising supplies, they’re additionally thought of in product testing and model goal efforts.”
One standout instance is e.l.f. Magnificence, which has prioritized help for the blind and low-vision group. “They’re the one model we measured to function expertise in adverts from the low-vision and blind group through champion swimmer Tas Pagonis,” Shivaji instructed CosmeticsDesign.
“Inside the product, they launched a ‘Magnificence for Each Eye’ bundle with QR codes that permit shoppers to scan to listen to product descriptions, and inside their goal efforts, the Present Yours(e.l.f.) collection showcase tales from extraordinary function fashions like Pagonis,” she continued. “There’s a consistency of their actions demonstrating they care about these communities, and in flip, shoppers reply positively.”
Challenges in inclusivity efforts
Regardless of progress, the report recognized areas the place the wonder business continues to fall brief. “Probably the most regarding miss was the persistence of colorism,” Klein famous, or discrimination based mostly on pores and skin tone, favoring individuals with lighter pores and skin over individuals with darker pores and skin.
“As a result of adverts have a shorter lead time to create versus product growth or model goal,” he defined, “we anticipated to see probably the most enchancment in promoting versus different advertising ways, however this wasn’t the case.”
Concerning this specific problem, he continued, “Manufacturers typically fail to contemplate the breadth of pores and skin tone variety in ethnic teams, [which] can result in casting one individual with a lighter pores and skin tone to be consultant of all the group, and this isn’t consultant in any respect.”
As a proactive resolution, Klein instructed that manufacturers maintain themselves accountable. “We noticed expertise with deep pores and skin tones had been the least represented in creator content material, so this can be a nice beginning place for manufacturers to carry themselves accountable.”
Different challenges famous in SeeMe Index’s report embrace a decline in model goal calls-to-action, with 21% fewer manufacturers offering shoppers with alternatives to help brand-led social influence initiatives, in addition to a stagnation in gender non-confirming illustration at 1.5% of screentime.
Moreover, the evaluation famous using “anti-aging” ageist language has elevated, now utilized by 49% of manufacturers, in comparison with 40% in 2023.
The enterprise case for inclusivity
The info additionally strengthened the financial advantages of inclusivity. “I’d argue inclusion has at all times been an important driver of name success,” mentioned Shivaji.
“It’s one of many elementary ideas of selling that you just personalize your model and product to attraction to your shopper’s distinctive wants,” she defined, and developments in expertise are facilitating the implementation course of with rising effectivity.
“Accountable AI permits us to measure massive swaths of information that wouldn’t have been potential manually,” she illustrated, and by “combining this with POS information from a trusted associate like Circana, [this] provides the business the proof factors we’ve been ready for to determine the enterprise case.”
Rising traits in inclusivity
The 2025 index expanded its scope to investigate over 100 manufacturers, uncovering new insights into how totally different model classes method inclusivity. “With a broader set of manufacturers, we had been capable of uncover insights at sub-category ranges corresponding to luxurious vs. mass, indie vs. legacy, or Black-owned or based,” Klein mentioned.
The evaluation decided that Black-owned or based manufacturers are more likely to display inclusion that goes past pores and skin tone, he revealed.
Particularly, he highlighted, “these manufacturers are 2x extra prone to function expertise of various ages, 1.8x extra prone to function expertise with facial traits like vitiligo or facial birthmarks, and 1.3x extra prone to function totally different hair varieties in adverts, even when it’s not a hair care model.”
In consequence, “they’re actually main the business in inclusion throughout a number of id dimensions.”
The SeeMe Index report additionally revealed that general, extra manufacturers are acknowledging shoppers with disabilities, with an 11% enhance in merchandise obtainable for this shopper demographic. Intersectionality, in addition to age and dimension inclusion, are additionally on the rise in advertising efforts.
The way forward for inclusive magnificence
Trying forward, inclusivity shall be much more crucial for magnificence manufacturers aiming to attach with youthful generations. “Within the subsequent 5 years and past, manufacturers should win with Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” mentioned Shivaji, as “these generations are noticeably blacker, browner, and queerer, so ‘inclusive advertising’ is simply one other technique to say efficient advertising for these shoppers.”
Subsequently, she suggested, “It’s time to vary the notion that inclusive advertising is one way or the other along with your different advertising efforts.”
She warned that magnificence manufacturers who fail to evolve of their inclusive advertising efforts might “get left behind should you suppose that manner, and this echoes the info from the UN’s enterprise case for inclusion that confirmed that manufacturers with out inclusive promoting will change into out of date, dropping each short- and long-term gross sales together with loyalty.”
Striving to set a brand new business commonplace
Transferring ahead, the SeeMe Inclusivity Index continues aiming to boost the bar for the wonder business by offering transparency and accountability.
“Our imaginative and prescient from day one has been that the index turns into a standard useful resource between manufacturers and shoppers,” Shivaji concluded. “Our hope is that as extra manufacturers and shoppers take note of the index and its insights, it’ll increase the bar for inclusion within the business.”
