“Avon Products is a direct selling company that distributes both cosmetics and other beauty items” (missionstatements.com). In their mission statement, the Avon Products company states that they are a company which strives to “surpass competitors” in quality and service. They offer the “convenience of multiple brands and channels” and try to create lasting customer relationships. The statement includes a number of indications that the company wants their employees to succeed and to see Avon as “the best place to work”. The Avon company mission statement tries to make it very clear that they hire women in the hopes of giving them a more independence and a sense of empowerment.
Is Avon’s mission statement really trying to empower women? Or, is this tactic of empowerment their way of improving their own economic standing? Avon is a cosmetics company. They sell makeup and other “beauty items” to women throughout the world. However; the mission statement of the company seems to say that Avon is much more than a producer of cosmetics:
“The Largest Women's Foundation: We will be a committed global champion for the health and well-being of women through philanthropic efforts that eliminate breast cancer from the face of the earth, and that empower women to achieve economic independence” (missionstatements.com).
This statement sounds more like a campaign for women’s rights than a statement of purpose for a company. Rather than saying they participate in “philanthropic efforts” in hopes of eliminating breast cancer, they simply say that they their efforts eliminate breast cancer. What are these efforts that are so affective? In what way will selling makeup for Avon decrease the number of women suffering from cancer? They do not tell the audience how they plan to do this—simply that it is being done. This makes Avon sound like a charity, when in reality they are a company. They need to make a profit. They need to sell as many products as they possibly can in order to remain a successful business. If women think that they are working for a good cause, they will be more motivated to sell more products. The more products that are sold, the more profit the Avon Company makes.
Also, the company seems to be saying that by selling their products, employees will have a deeper sense of self-worth. They claim that women will feel more empowered with every cosmetics sale that they make. The company is speaking to the audience of women who feel that they need more purpose in life. They are speaking to those who have low self esteem. They are saying, “Come work for us; sell our products. It will make you feel better.”
The Avon Company gives the impression that their objective is to empower women. They are saying that they are a company which needs women to help other women. Working for them will improve the female population in multiple ways. Although some of their efforts may be amicable, these apparent statements of purpose mask the true objective of the mission statement, which is to get more employees so that they can sell more products. To put it simply, the Avon company has the same objective that every business has: to make money.
The company’s mission statement makes employees feel good about the work that they are doing. Avon believes that if employees feel good about what they are doing, they will happily do more work—which benefits both parties. The Avon Products statement makes the company appear to be something other than what they are. They are not a feminist organization traveling around speaking to women about their rights and to know that they are worthy members of society. They are a business. They need workers. They need profits. Giving audiences the impression that they are a company simply created to empower women is not an appropriate or honest message.
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