There’s no easy way around it: Women are vastly underrepresented in elected and appointed political positions. According to research from RepresentWomen, a nonpartisan initiative committed to achieving gender parity in office, the U.S. has fewer women in legislative positions than in 98 other countries in the world.
Things aren’t much better on the domestic front, either. According to the group’s 2018 Gender Parity Index Report, women have progressed less than 40% down the road to equal representation, a figure that’s slowed in recent years. (And this is nearly a century after women fought for — and won — the right to vote.) In short: There’s still a lot of work to be done before women are equally represented in government. But today, one beauty brand has announced an initiative to help bridge that gap.
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As part of its just-launched #MoreThanLips campaign, Soap & Glory has pledged to donate $5 for every social media post using the hashtag to national nonprofit She Should Run, which aims to help 250,000 women run for office by the year 2030.
It’s an initiative that took root at this year’s Women’s March in L.A., where the company gave women the opportunity to share raw and emotional testimonials about the kind of hardships (like domestic violence) and triumphs (becoming the first openly trans person running for California state legislature) they’ve faced. The footage not only made for a compelling campaign video, but spawned the brand to pony up serious cash for social change.
Tied to three new lip product releases — including the Poutstanding Lip Contouring Crayon, a double-ended wand geared to line and fill lips — the campaign will run over the course of the next month, giving beauty enthusiasts an easy way to raise funds for a much-needed cause. And if the campaign doesn’t meet its $20,000 cap by mid-March? The company has pledged to donate the full amount anyway.
This isn't the first time a lipstick launch was tied to social justice. Last year, Lipslut raised tens of thousands of dollars to Charlottesville victims. And back in 1912, Elizabeth Arden herself gave out red lipsticks to help emblazon suffragettes on the march. Now, with Soap & Glory’s latest endeavor, solidifying the bond between beauty and advocacy is as easy as snapping a selfie and tagging for change.