Leading beauty brand, Lancôme, is marking International Women’s Day by celebrating the successful completion of the pilot phase of its local Write Your Future programme, which was launched in August 2023. Inspired by the spirit of collective action that informs Women’s Day around the world, it is working to #InspireInclusion through a series of projects designed to empower young women with critical digital and workplace skills.  

Lancôme launched the brand’s global social impact campaign in South Africa last year, kicking off with a twelve-month pilot in Limpopo. Aimed at enabling high-potential, under resourced women aged between 18 and 25 through digital education, the programme is being delivered in partnership with Social Coding, a non-profit organisation that helps under-resourced communities to leverage technology for a better future.

First launched in 2017, Write Your Future has empowered more than 150 000 young women around the world with the skills required to embrace the opportunities presented by today’s digital environment. They include beneficiaries of the Lancôme USA Write Your Future Scholarship Fund  as well as beneficiaries of the many learning, entrepreneurship and mentorship programmes funded by Lancôme. 

Write Your Future is, however, about more than just developing technology skills. It is about enabling young women to embrace and fulfil their roles as fully engaged members of a diverse and gender-equal society.  

About Write Your Future

“The programme is primarily designed to give young women access to essential digital skills,” says  Yumnaa Waja, General Manager of L’Oréal South Africa’s Luxury Products Division. “More than that, though, it’s designed to empower them with the personal, communication and leadership skills they need to confidently embrace the challenges of working in today’s digital world. Write Your Future is about giving them the skills they need to be personally, professionally and financially independent. 

The fifteen young women selected to participate in the pilot not only met the qualifying criteria but impressed the selection panel with their high levels of personal motivation and their future potential. 

Attending sessions three times a week between August and October last year, this first cohort benefitted from a mix of theoretical training and hands-on learning that provided a holistic learning experience. 

The first two modules of the programme, which were delivered over six weeks, offered an introduction to digital literacy and provided accredited end-user computer training. This included training in the use of the full suite of Microsoft Office programmes and in Google Workspace functionality. The third module consisted of an introduction to coding and robotics, while the fourth module covered effective digital communication. The sixth and final module drew all of these learning experiences together to assist the candidates with career readiness and to help them develop digital portfolios. 

 

One of the beneficiaries, Matshidisho Mashabela, graduated from the University of Limpopo in 2021 but, like over 30% of young graduates, faced an uncertain future without workplace-specific digital skills. Now far better equipped to compete in the job market, she is looking forward to entering the workforce in 2024. 

“I’m so excited to have had the opportunity to learn not only essential digital skills but also coding and robotics,” she says. “These skills sets will be in high demand well into the future and having a solid foundation in both has equipped me to build a successful and sustainable career.” 

As we venture further into the digital age, Waja says that Write Your Future stands as a pivotal step for young women, charting a course for them to be influential contributors in a tech-driven society.

L’Oréal South Africa’s sustainability programme

Write Your Future forms part of L’Oréal South Africa’s broader sustainability programme.  

“Lancôme has always stood for and with women by helping them to develop into the skilled, confident and happy individuals they want to become,” says Waja. “With Write Your Future, over the next three years, we will be working to identify the specific needs of young women in rural communities and provide them with both the digital education and support they need to realise their full potential. And, as around 38% of households in South Africa are headed by women, there will be a very real impact for communities and society as a whole.”

 She says that the aim of Write Your Future is to make strides to bridge the digital gender gap and address barriers that prohibit young women from becoming active, engaged, productive and independent citizens.

 “On completion of the programme, participants receive a higher certificate in Information technology,” she says, “and have the opportunity to participate in an eight-month internship. We want to use this platform to empower every woman to be the author of her destiny.”