#WriteHerFuture: Lancôme announces €2 million pledge to tackle female illiteracy

L’Oréal-owned beauty brand Lancôme has unveiled a new global commitment to combat illiteracy among women.

The #WriteHerFuture project aims to raise at least €2 million over the next five years to fund international literacy programmes and develop local support communities for this cause. The initiative will also mobilise change and raise awareness about the still relatively unknown global illiteracy situation.

Lancôme International President Françoise Lehmann said: “Today, 76 million young women lack basic reading and writing skills. Often hidden, this handicap causes young women to face exclusion and dependence, with serious consequences for themselves, their families, and their close ones. This is why Lancôme has committed to fight against young women’s illiteracy and give a voice to this invisible reality.

“A natural affinity for Lancôme, whose mission, since the very beginning, has always been to help women in their quest for self-fulfillment and expression of what makes them unique. Write Her Future, Lancôme’s very first global philanthropic programme is a civic and long-term commitment, which aims to raise awareness, implement concrete actions in the field, and initiate a movement in favour of women.”

Lancôme Ambassadress Julia Roberts commented: “Literacy is one of the most defining human skills. We read and write – that’s how we communicate, how we share, how we express our feelings, and how we learn to understand the world. To not have that accessible to everyone everywhere is really a crime. It’s so great for Lancôme to be involved and get serious about supporting young girls in the world through the work of Write Her Future.”

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To kick off the project Lancôme has partnered with CARE, an NGO operating in 94 countries which is committed to more than 1,000 projects on the ground. Since its creation in 1945, CARE has become one of the largest global, non-political and non-denominational humanitarian networks. Its objectives have placed girls and women at the heart of its action.

Lancôme and CARE are launching a literacy programme in Morocco, followed by two other programmes starting this year in Guatemala and Thailand. These three programmes will directly benefit more than 8,000 women and indirectly benefit more than 40,000 people.

CARE USA Chief Innovation Officer Dar Vanderbeck said: “CARE is thrilled that through ‘Write Her Future’, Lancôme will further literacy for women and girls in Morocco, Guatemala and Thailand. Here in the USA, this partnership is just as important. It raises awareness of this critical issue, as well as the visibility of this partnership and the important work that CARE and Lancôme are doing together.”