The beauty and business development company recently unveiled its "Enriching Lives Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow" sustainability strategy.

The initiative, which comprises 5 pillars, 15 commitments and more than 10 years of action, was developed in collaboration with Mary Kay's main stakeholders, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Student scholarships for women

As part of its mission to promote women's empowerment, education, and entrepreneurship, Mary Kay has committed to providing educational opportunities to 250,000 young people by 2030.

The program, which enabled young people globally to benefit from "exceptional educational opportunities," is also part of the organization's strategy to enrich the lives of women.

Beneficiaries

Some of the Mary Kay Inc. programs and partnerships highlighted in 2022 were:

• Hispanic Scholarship Fund — Scholarship awarded annually to support and empower students and parents with the knowledge and resources to successfully complete a higher education, while providing support services and scholarships to as many exceptional students, scholars, and former HSF students as possible.
• Young Women in STEAM Grants — 6 recipients received scholarships designed to uplift young women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics and encourage them to pursue their calling and career. The 2022 recipients were citizens of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, the Philippines, China, and Australia, engaged in various careers, from app development and architecture, to physics and geothermal inventions.
• Young Women in STEAM Continuing Education Grant — As an extension of Mary Kay’s Young Women in STEAM grants and social campaign, Ivanna Hernández, a 2021 scholarship recipient, received a second one to help her pursue her dream of becoming the first Latin American astronaut to go to Mars. She was featured in a documentary created to inspire young girls to aim for the stars.
• Society of Cosmetic Chemists Madam C. J. Walker Scholarship — Established to honor Walker, the first female, self-made millionaire who made her fortune by developing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women. At the SCC 75th Annual meeting, Ms. A’Lelia Bundles, the great-great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, and Michelle Hines, Ph.D., Director of Product Formulation at Mary Kay, presented the Madam C. J. Walker Scholarships for under-represented minority students pursuing higher education in STEM disciplines related to the cosmetics and personal care industry. The award is supported by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and partnered and funded by Mary Kay. The winning recipients included: Joy Rutherford, fifth-year PhD student and NIH Research Fellow; and Imani Elaine Porter, Hampton University, second-year undergraduate in biochemistry.
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship — Partnering to provide 47,000 youth globally with entrepreneurship curriculum and innovative thinking opportunities. Through support of 1) the Aspiring Entrepreneurs Program (U.S.) core program; 2) World Series of Innovation; and 3) World Series of Innovation Challenge Innovation Days, Mary Kay is helping to empower youth to reach their entrepreneurial dreams. In the 2021-2022 school year, Mary Kay sponsored the NFTE World Series of Innovation (WSI) where 21 teams of emerging social entrepreneurs won a total of $16,800 for their proposed solutions to seven challenges, each of which focused on advancing a Sustainable Development Goal. Sponsors of the seven innovation challenges included: Bank of the West, Citi Foundation, Mary Kay, Saint-Gobain North America, Ernst & Young, LLP (EY), Maxar Technologies, and PIMCO. The 2022 World Series of Innovation Challenge launched in September 2022 and Mary Kay is participating for a third year tackling SDG 14: Life Below Water.
• City of Lewisville, IncubatorEDU — In collaboration with the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD), IncubatorEDU offers a robust curriculum in entrepreneurship for students at Lewisville High School. Community mentors and an end-of-course kickoff event provide students with real business experience and educational opportunities.