Clé de Peau Beauté pledges US$17M to UNICEF, educating millions of girls in STEM

09 May 2024 --- In one year, luxury skin care brand Clé de Peau Beauté and UNICEF have surpassed half of their three-year goal to empower 5.7 million girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). 

The organizations concluded the first year of their renewed partnership, reaching more than three million girls worldwide. The number of people already reached put the program on track to help more girls than projected by 2025. 

According to UNICEF, one in four girls aged 15 – 19 is not employed, in education or training, compared to one in ten boys of the same age. The Skills4Girls initiatives are designed to help address this gender inequality.

Skills4Girls initiatives incorporate a range of programs working with and for girls worldwide, connecting them to the STEM knowledge and skills they need to be “competitive in the 21st-century workforce.”

“Over 90% of jobs worldwide have a digital component, but options remain limited or non-existent for girls, especially adolescent girls, in these male-dominated fields,” says Carla Haddad Mardini, UNICEF director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships.

“We are thrilled to see such significant progress made in bridging the STEM gender gap in only the first year of our renewed partnership with Clé de Peau Beauté, and we look forward to continuing our work together to empower the next generation of girls.”

Donation for education
The Clé de Peau Beauté for UNICEF partnership began in 2019 and was renewed in 2023 with the new goal of reaching 5.7 million girls in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Namibia, Niger, Peru, Uzbekistan and Vietnam by 2025. 

Clé de Peau Beauté has pledged the “world’s largest private sector contribution” of US$17.4 million to UNICEF’sGender Equality Program since the partnership started in 2019. 

In Burundi, one in five women aged 15–24 is illiterate (Image credit: UNICEF).The brand’s global Cause-Related Marketing Campaign funds the contribution, where US$3 from every purchase of The Serum, one of the brand’s best-selling products, benefits UNICEF’s on-the-ground work.

Spearheading change in Bangladesh
A group of UNICEF and Clé de Peau Beauté representatives recently visited Bangladesh.

“All of us at Clé de Peau Beauté are so proud to see our partnership with Unicef making such a positive impact on the lives of girls across Bangladesh,” says Mizuki Hashimoto, chief brand officer of Clé de Peau Beauté. “It truly was a thought-provoking experience.”

“Our support for the National Curriculum and Textbook Board is transforming the educational system on a national level through redesigned, gender-responsive, skills-based curricula and textbooks that are equipping students for the 21st century.” 

“It was also so inspiring to see our work supporting the most vulnerable out-of-school girls who are being empowered by Skills4Girls initiatives, gaining the skills they need to support themselves, their families and their communities. All of this successful work affirms our commitment to education as the key to a better world.”

During the visit, Clé de Peau Beauté and UNICEF representatives had the opportunity to meet a Skills4Girls graduate who shared her personal story. 

“Since childhood, I aspired to learn computer skills, but financial constraints halted my education. Thanks to the Skills4Girls computer training course, I’ve gained diverse skills and am now working as a trainer myself. I’ve shattered the belief that girls can’t excel because we can achieve anything. No boundaries can confine me now.”

By Sabine Waldeck