Site icon Mary Kay News Hub

For Mary Kay, It’s Mission Critical: We’ve Accelerated Our Digital Innovation Efforts To Unleash The Full Potential Of Women Entrepreneurs

Deb Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay Inc

Statement by Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay on International Women’s Day, 2023

DALLAS, TX (March 8, 2023) – Below is a statement by Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay Inc., in celebration of International Women’s Day 2023.

37% of women worldwide do not have access to the internet. I know – I had to read that twice, too.[1]

37%! The number is staggering. It feels impossible. In our always-on, always-connected world, how can more than a third of all women in the world remain “unconnected”? This shocking reality – and its implications – fuel this year’s International Women’s Day theme: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”

As Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay, I know the role technology plays in all aspects of business – especially entrepreneurial business. To maximize the opportunity offered by technology, digital literacy skills are an absolute requirement for women entrepreneurs to fully participate in our global economy. They are also a necessity for civic and social engagement.

The foundations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution are digital and they are being laid right now. For all of us this revolution holds the tremendous opportunity to leverage technology and innovation to advance women entrepreneurship and equality. The time is now to ensure women reap the benefits of this digital transformation.

The digital economy won’t wait for anyone to catch up. Women’s exclusion from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the gross domestic product of low- and middle-income countries in the last decade.[2] Once again, change is not happening fast enough for women.

We can fix this. We must fix this.

To reach their full potential, women business owners around the world must not only have access to the digital tools we take for granted, but they must have the right skills and training to use them effectively.

That’s why bridging the digital gender gap is so personal to us at Mary Kay, a company founded by a woman for women.

Our founder, Mary Kay Ash, had a vision to offer women unmatched entrepreneurial opportunities for advancement and personal success. That means something different today than it did in the ‘60s, but that same spirit remains. As an entrepreneurship development company, our focus is lifting women entrepreneurs up and addressing the barriers they face in establishing or growing their business. Digitalization is one of them.

At Mary Kay, we are determined to put women entrepreneurs at the center of the digital transformation.

We’ve accelerated our digital innovation efforts – this includes revolutionizing Mary Kay’s Independent Beauty Consultants’ (IBCs) ability to unleash their full potential through digital upskilling, the development and roll-out of innovative digital tools, from award-winning apps featuring augmented reality (AR), to connecting IBCs with their customers in more effective and seamless ways. We’re improving not only the experience for the independent sales force, but for their customers around the world. 

Here are some of the latest examples of our commitment to empower Mary Kay’s independent sales force to harness the power of digital:

We also believe in digital collaborations to help women entrepreneurs harness the power of digital throughout the world. To this end, we have joined forces with:

And we’re just getting started. The digital revolution is underway. Let’s not miss out on this golden opportunity to enable women and girls to champion entrepreneurship in the digital age! 

[1]  ITU (2022). Facts and Figures 2022 – The gender digital divide (itu.int)

[2] UN Women. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Gender Snapshot 2022.

Exit mobile version