Dove commits to closing Black maternal care gap and tackles AI-driven beauty distortions

15 Apr 2024 --- Dove is making space in the beauty industry for mothers of color and body positivity, promoting inclusivity and acceptance. The personal care company reinforces its commitment to closing the Black maternal care gap with the launch of its Expecting Care campaign and releases a global report entitled 2024 The Real State of Beauty.

During Black Maternal Health Week, the company showcases a portrait series featuring five Black Birth Equity Fund recipients, designed to increase awareness of the importance of lifesaving doula care and the right for Black moms to receive “superior care at every step” of their pregnancy and birthing journey. 

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. It cites variations in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism and implicit bias.

The company also says it challenges “society, media and the beauty industry itself to widen its representation, be transparent about digital distortion, and face up to the harmful impact unrealistic beauty standards have on women and girls.” 

In a 2004 study, the company reported that only 2% of women globally considered themselves beautiful.

Ten years later, Dove reevaluated women’s body perceptions and discovered that over one in three women in the US would give up a year of their lives to achieve an “ideal” look or body.

Supporting Black mothers
A study by Lamaze International found that expecting moms are two times less likely to experience birth complications and are more likely to experience overall positive health outcomes when supported by a doula. 

Therefore, Dove’s new campaign highlights the need for Black moms to gain access to the extra care. 

“The goal of Baby Dove’s Black Birth Equity Fund has always been to improve the birthing journey for Black moms and their babies,” says Greg Ross, chief operating officer of North America Personal Care at Unilever.

Dove supports Black mothers during Black Maternal Health Week.First launched in August 2021, Baby Dove’s Black Birth Equity Project has provided over US$650,000 in grants to help over 500 Black mothers access doula support during their pregnancy and postpartum journeys. The program aims to help close the gap in care and improve health outcomes for Black expectant mothers.

“After receiving a grant from Baby Dove in 2023, I was able to hire a doula who acted as my personal advocate leading up to my due date and in the delivery room,” says Jazzmine Hall, a Black Birth Equity Fund Recipient featured in the Expecting Care campaign. 

“It made me so much more confident in my journey, and I was able to enjoy my pregnancy more knowing I had someone who would be there to help me through the labor process. I’m so happy that Baby Dove is helping to bridge the equity gap and thrilled to be included alongside other Black expectant moms to advocate for the importance of doula care.”

Baby Dove also partners with Black Mamas Matter Alliance to expand access to doulas through the Black Birth Equity Fund. Applications for direct, one-time grants of up to US$1,300 are available at BabyDove.com.

The company also joins Sista Midwife Productions, a birth advocacy, training and consulting agency, to launch the Black Doula Directory — a national resource offering expectant moms and birthing individuals access to Black doulas nationwide. The Black Doula Directory includes doula members worldwide, including Canada, Australia, England and Germany.

Currently, over 1,400 Black doulas are featured on the directory, with continued efforts to increase participation.

AI affecting beauty standards
Researchers surveyed over 33,000 respondents from 20 countries for the 2024 The Real State of Beauty. Dove found that over one in three women in the US would give up a year of their lives to achieve an ideal look or body.

The study suggests beauty ideals have evolved over the years to be more inclusive across race, orientation, gender and size, but the checklist of appearance ideals As AI develops it challenges beauty standards.is growing and “impossible to meet.” The company cites criteria such as “looking healthy” (81%), “being slim” (72%), “having a small waist” (69%) “while also being curvy” (59%). 

“The outsized value society places on appearance has intensified the pressure to be a certain type of beautiful,” states the company. Two in three women believe that women today are expected to be more physically attractive than their mother’s generation was, naming causes such as technology.

Approximately nine in ten women and girls say they have been exposed to “harmful” beauty content online. Dove calls AI one of the “biggest threats” to the representation of “real beauty.”

The company anticipates that 90% of the content online will be AI-generated by 2025, eliciting a “threat to women’s well-being.” One in three women feel pressure to alter their appearance because of what they see online, even when they know the image is fake or AI-generated, it asserts.

“Despite 20 years of work to broaden definitions of beauty, women feel less confident in their beauty than they did a decade ago,” explains Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs, body image expert and research psychologist at the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of West England.

“Representation is more important than ever. As AI technology continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is real beauty and what is manufactured by AI.”

However, 24% of women and almost 41% of girls in the US say it is “empowering” to be able to create different versions of oneself using AI.

By Sabine Waldeck