Sharon Chuter: Founder, Activist, And Trailblazer For Diversity In The Beauty Industry
At BET, we are privileged to celebrate our Blackness every day. In honor of Black History Month, we are pulling out extra confetti as we profile some of the most influential Black people in the fashion and beauty industries—especially if their accomplishments and contributions are overlooked by mainstream society. Cheers to our icons!
Sharon Chuter is on a mission to bring about diversity in her field. In fact, she was listed by WWD as one of the 50 most forward-thinking executives shaping the future of the beauty industry.
With the overall goal to rebuild the Black middle-class, the founder and CEO of UOMA Beauty has successfully made big waves in the fight for inclusivity in the multi-billion-dollar industry, including starting a radical call-to-action movement that encouraged brands to reveal the number of Black employees at their companies.
Below, see how she’s making her-story!
Sharon Chuter Founded The Inclusive Cosmetics Brand, Uoma Beauty
In 2018, Chuter successfully launched UOMA Beauty (pronounced uh-mah). Using her experience as a former beauty executive, the Nigerian-born beauty broke barriers with her rebellious and innovative brand, which prides itself in inclusive makeup for everyone.
Sharon Chuter Initiated The #PullUporShutUp Campaign
At the height of the social unrest in 2020, the London-based entrepreneur launched the Pull Up For Change Campaign. Using social media, the moment called for large scale businesses to share the statistics of how many Black people held employment with their organizations.
“This is an exercise to show the customer you have the power,” she revealed to us in June 2020. “If you don’t ask for it, it will never happen. It is high time we start building Black wealth.”
In less than a month, major brands including Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Kylie Cosmetics, and Ulta Beauty began sharing their stats. Some brands even took it a step further by requesting assistance in developing action plans, solutions, and diversity task forces.
Sharon Chuter Launched The ‘Pull Up For Change Impact Fund’ To Raise Money For Black Entrepreneurs
In February 2021, Chuter launched the Make It Black Campaign, an initiative to raise over $5,000,000 for emerging Black founders.
Using sales from limited-edition products by nine prominent beauty brands—only available at ULTA Beauty—100% of the proceeds will go to the Pull Up For Change Fund, which will grant underfunded entrepreneurs with capital for their business ventures.
Sharon Chuter Is Demanding A Change In The Definition Of “Black”
For Black History Month, Chuter wrote an open letter to the leadership behind Oxford and Merriam Webster dictionaries to encourage them to change the definition of “Black.”
Along with the letter, the beauty founder started a petition to have the definition changed to reflect the beauty in the word.
