“We finally see more and more of the contributions we have made, and continue to make, in this industry, but there is so much more work to do. I have worked in beauty and fashion for the last 25 years and there certainly has been an increase in our visibility and acknowledgment of our contributions. To create more equity I believe we must create value.

Value for our culture, value for our vision and frankly…value for our ability to generate revenue. The first step is to see our success being celebrated by us and by our industry. Success stories create a pathway toward visibility which in turn gives validity. Marian Wright Edelman said: “You can’t be what you can’t see,” so this validation is essential as it gives a new generation the opportunity to see themselves as something they had not imagined. It is our responsibility to seek, identify and nurture this newly inspired talent within our own community so that we can build our presence from inside existing entities. This will give us the ‘seat at the table.’ Unfortunately, there are very few empty seats waiting for us, so as we do this, we also need to build our own tables. Ones that can exist in the same room with others and where we can all share our experiences.”

– Hans Dorsinville, Chief Creative Officer, Beauty@Gotham advertising agency