Nearly 70% of Women of Color Small Business Owners Saw an Average Revenue Decline of 46% During the Pandemic, New Caress and IFundWomen of Color Research Shows

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For the past year, crisis after crisis, including the fight against racial injustice and the pandemic, relentlessly challenged communities and impacted their livelihood ? especially for women of color. New research from Caress and IFundWomen of Color shows the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened these gaps. Nearly 70% of women of color small business owners surveyed saw their revenue diminish in 2020 - and of those, they saw an average decline of 46%.

In partnership with IFundWomen of Color, the leading platform for diverse entrepreneurs to raise capital, Caress is unveiling new data revealing the ongoing challenges women of color entrepreneurs are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Caress x IFundWomen of Color Virtual Summit.

Today's half-day virtual summit will unmask the collective barriers to success including lack of resources and navigating systems of inequity, while helping entrepreneurs navigate the path forward through a series of learning sessions and intimate fireside chats led by women in leadership, including Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP & COO NA Beauty and Personal Care, Unilever.

Financial support was amongst the biggest challenges cited in the research report and will be addressed head on in the virtual summit. While some businesses found respite and access to federal funding to keep their businesses afloat, many women of color-owned small businesses continued to struggle. 81% did not receive emergency government assistance to support their business in 2020 with 49% relying on their personal savings.

"Women of Color and their businesses have suffered disproportionately during this pandemic and receiving grants and aid through federal relief programs has been challenging for many," said Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP & COO North American Beauty and Personal Care, Unilever. "Last year, through our partnership with IFundWomen of Color, Caress committed $1,000,000 to support women of color entrepreneurs over the next two years including immediate relief directly going towards small businesses impacted by economic strain due to COVID-19 and the biases of systemic racism. This new research further proves how imperative it is to continue to support women of color entrepreneurs through their journey and we're proud to use the Caress x IFundWomen of Color Virtual Summit as a platform to create a space of equity and drive such an important conversation."

Despite the challenges faced, women of color small business owners are hopeful, 60% of women of color business owners expect revenues to improve this year, and 73% of those whose businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic believe their businesses will fully recover by Spring 2022.

Most of the women surveyed cite community support and access to education and funding as the main drivers on the road to recovery. 

"COVID-19 has hit women of color-owned small businesses hard, but we're optimistic they can and will recover. Through IFundWomen's partnership with Caress, we're proud to continue offering our growing community of diverse entrepreneurs access to capital through crowdfunding and grants, expert business coaching, and connections to follow-on capital, collaborators, and new partnerships," said Olivia Owens, Creator and General Manager of IFundWomen of Color. "While 70% of women surveyed say the support of their peers was crucial to starting or maintaining their business in 2020, 2 in 5 feel disconnected from other women of color entrepreneurs and do not have people in their day-to-day network to collaborate with and problem-solve. The goal of today's virtual summit, as well as one of our overarching goals of IFundWomen of Color, is to offer a space for women to cultivate meaningful      conversations and relationships that will help them continue to advance." 

To join the summit, RSVP at caressvirtualsummit.splashthat.com, and follow the #caressxifwoc hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.

For more information on the Caress and IFundWomen of Color partnership, including COVID-19 relief grants and the Dream to Reality Fund, please visit ifundwomen.com/woc.

Follow @Caress on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter 
Follow @IFundWomen on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter

For additional information contact:
Kirby Brewster
Account Supervisor, Edelman
[email protected] 

About Caress®
Caress®, a U.S. Unilever beauty brand and trusted name for more than 30 years, is known for products that give women gorgeous skin they will want to flaunt. Offering an exceptional variety, Caress® beauty bars and body washes leave your skin feeling instantly moisturized and are paired with exquisite fragrances so women can have it all. Caress® has been committed to creating products that turn every shower into a fully immersive sensorial experience - moments that are proven to spur creativity. It's what inspires Caress' belief that no great idea should go down the drain. Caress® is committed to helping women, particularly women of color, take their ideas from dreams to reality. Visit www.caress.us for more information.

About IFundWomen of Color
Launched in January 2020, IFundWomen of Color is a platform dedicated to advancing BIPOC entrepreneurs through access to capital, coaching, and lucrative connections specifically needed for women of color to launch and grow successful businesses. After its first year in existence, IFundWomen of Color leveled the funding field across the IFundWomen platform. Learn more at www.IFundWomen.com/woc

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 2.5 billion people every day. We have 149,000 employees and generated sales of ?50.7 billion in 2020. Over half of our footprint is in developing and emerging markets. We have around 400 brands found in homes all over the world. In the United States and Canada, the portfolio includes iconic brand such as: Dove, Knorr, Hellmann's, Lipton, Magnum, Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Q-tips, Seventh Generation, St. Ives, Suave, TRESemmé, and Vaseline.

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world's first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap, more than 100 years ago, and it's at the heart of how we run our company today.

The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth, while:

• improving the health of the planet;
• improving people's health, confidence and wellbeing; and
• contributing to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2020?as a sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index?and ? for the?tenth-consecutive year ? as the top ranked company in the?2020 GlobeScan/SustainAbility?Sustainability Leaders survey.

For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca

SOURCE Caress