80 PROFESSIONAL WOMANS MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE WWW.PROFESSIONALWOMANMAG.COM Ross encourages fellow women entrepreneurs, especially BIPOC entrepreneurs, to not allow their lack of experience or outside pressures to deter them, though. No one wants to give you money; no one wants to give you all the things you should have, Ross said during the summit. I strongly believe in women and women of color fighting for equity, for having a stake in what they create, because histori- cally we give up our names, we give up all these things, and we have no stake in what we make. This sentiment is evident in how she brands her business. Pattern, available exclusively at Ulta Beauty, focuses on a celebration of Black beauty, which Ross believes is still uncommon but necessary. If our hair could talk, it would tell you of our legacies, she says, all those ways our identity pushed through spaces where it wasnt meant to be, but is nonetheless. Since launching, Ross has put her naysayers to shame. On its first day, the site yielded nearly eight times the expected sales, and its Instagram follow- ing grew to 130,000 within a week. Ross saw how underpenetrated the Black haircare market still re- mains. According to a 2018 Nielsen report, the Black haircare industry made an estimated $2.5 billion, showcasing that there is considerable opportunity for Black-owned businesses like Pattern to enter the mainstream market. This is exactly what Ross hopes to see happen as the new Diversity and Inclusion Ad- visor for Ulta Beauty. She told BusinessWire , This work requires commitment and accountability from Ulta Beauty to ensure measurable goals are achieved. I am hopeful and optimistic our work together will create foundational change. According to Ulta CEO Mary Dillon, the company is deeply committed to leading purposefully with and for underrepresented voices across retail and beauty on our D&I journey. It's Ross's goal to support and uplift current and future brands, suppliers and companies created by and for people of color sold at Ulta, as well as to as- sist the company in developing diverse and inclusive leadership in their supply chain. They are committed to joining executive diversity and inclusion council summits quarterly. For so many years, there had not been products for women who wanted to wear their hair naturally and didnt want to put heat on it or hold themselves up to a white standard of beauty, shared Ross with InStyle . I walked into my relationship with Ulta as a per- son who always was looking to create a more equi- table space for women, for Black people, for people of color across the board. Its something that is my guiding force and mission in my acting career and my producing. That is how I move through the world, so it was no different in the beauty industry. And its one of the reasons I decided to go with Ulta. Mary Dillon has been focused on and fighting for inclusion and diversity at Ulta from when I started my relationship with them, and none of that has changed through all of this.
Commitment to Personal & Professional Growth
The actress has had a stellar career, from playing lawyer Joan Clayton in the critically-acclaimed show Girlfriends in the 2000s to Dr. Rainbow Johnson in the award-smashing Black-ish, and most recently Grace Davis in her biggest film yet [that also show- cased her singing debut], The High Note. However, it has not always been simple or easy. Ross had to ind her own way in Hollywood without falling into the shadow of her famous mother. Shes also felt the challenges of being a woman (especially single and childless) in a ruthless, patriarchal industry still hold- ing on to antiquated social ideals. As Ross explained in a past interview with Oprah, My worth just gets
PHOTO BY FREDERICK M. BROWN/GETTY IMAGES
(L-R) "Black-ish" Actors Laurence Fishburne, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson speak onstage in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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