The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has created an Equity and Engagement Center of Excellence in a bid to advance its inclusivity and representation efforts.
The center will be led by Nicole Monson who has been named equity and engagement senior vice president. She will report directly to ELC Global human resources executive vice president Michael O’Hare.
ELC says the events of 2020 and the movement around racial equality have put a spotlight on companies’ responsibility to advance equal representation, advocacy and inclusion across their organizations.
The new center builds on the company’s letter it sent to employees last June outlining steps to achieve racial equality within the company. The center will focus on career advancement, development programs and hiring practices, among other initiatives.
The center was designed to be a complementary partner to ELC’s other business units focused on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-related matters, including human resources, the inclusion, diversity & equity center of excellence, global communications, global citizenship and sustainability and global public affairs.
Monson joined ELC in 2014 and was previously global employment, ethics and legal privacy senior vice president, deputy general counsel. Monson is also a member of ELC’s Diversity Council, in addition to being a member of the company’s employee resource groups Network of Black Leaders & Executives and Women’s Leadership Network. She has also recently become an executive sponsor of She’s Howard: Own Your Power, ELC’s partnership with Howard University to support the university’s alumnae.
Additionally, Monson was selected to be part of the US’ National Black Lawyers Top 100.