Sephora is, for many consumers, synonymous with beauty—and for feeding into our their desires to keep up with the latest trends, from red blush to bronzing drops.

It has also become a go-to for workers in the LGBTQ+ community. Sephora’s VP of DE&I George-Axelle Broussillon Matschinga recently told HR Brew how the company’s benefits and culture have helped it achieve LGBTQ+ representation that’s nearly twice the national rate.

Barriers to employment. While the majority of Fortune 500 companies have policies that protect against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, 41% of US workers who identify as LGBTQ+ still face discrimination at work, according to a recent Randstad report. They’re also more likely to be unemployed or underemployed and earn less than non-LGBTQ+ workers.

Sephora’s approach. Of Sephora’s 16,000 workers across 500 global stores, 14% identify as LGBTQ+, as compared to 7.8% of US adults overall. The company prides itself on the way in which it has woven inclusion into all aspects of its business, from the messaging on its website to the diversity depicted on its social media.

Keep reading here.—KP

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While “a record number of non-LGBTQ Americans support equal rights for the LGBTQ community,” according to a 2023 study from GLAAD, workers who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community still face workplace discrimination and a wage gap, a new study has found.

The majority (63%) of the 2,000 LGBTQ+ workers surveyed by writing platform EduBirdie said they have been discriminated against in the workplace and 45% said they have been passed over for a promotion due to their identity.

These findings may, in part, explain why LGBTQ+ workers also face a pay gap, according to recent data from Glassdoor. The average salary for an LGBTQ+ worker on the site is $60,009—16% less than workers who are not part of that community. Transgender workers earn 23% less than average.

Advocates have called on employers to do more to reduce discrimination and the pay gap.

Keep reading here.—KP

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) announced Monday that it’s partnering with ETS, an education and talent platform, on a new “skills-based talent ecosystem” to help HR teams better assess their workforce’s skills and prepare them to deliver in a skills-based economy.

This partnership combines ETS’s assessment tools with “individualized career insights” for employees, personalized learning and upskilling recommendations, and skills insights for managers and HR leaders. A new SHRM certification will also help HR better understand skills-based talent-management needed for the future of work.

“There are lifelong learners who need to demonstrate not only what they know—and upskill and reskill over time—but also to be able to show what they can do,” Michelle Froah, ETS’s global chief marketing and innovation officer and SVP of corporate solutions. “What we’re focused on is advancing the science of measurement, but why? To power human progress.”

Zoom out. According to ETS’s 2024 Human Progress report, 75% of respondents globally believed their current skills would grow outdated as technology continues to evolve.

Keep reading here.—AD

Hiring made easy. Gone are the days of complicated, manual hiring processes. Paradox CEO Adam Godson’s new e-book explains how AI can simplify hiring. Explore how to automate screening + interview scheduling, and how conversational AI can positively impact candidate conversion and retention. Check it out.