Olay is betting big on the next generation of cosmetic scientists.
The Procter & Gamble-owned skin care brand has teamed up with Coursera to launch a four-course Introduction to Cosmetic Science and Ingredients specialization, aiming to increase accessibility to the field among underrepresented groups, particularly women and women of color.
“We know that a lot of people are interested in entering the cosmetic science field; this specialization is offering a skill set and knowledge base that isn’t readily available to everyone,” said Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, senior scientific communications director and fellow, global skin care at P&G Beauty. “It’s giving them access and setting them up either to enter the beauty industry, or to fundamentally understand how the products they use actually work.”
Taught by Wilkerson and other in-house chemists at Olay, the specialization encompasses topics including the intricacies of skin physiology; best practices for creating innovative formulas; identifying effective ingredients for certain skin concerns, and cosmetic quality control and safety.
Olay will award $2 million worth of scholarships over three years to prospective students of the specialization, which can be completed at one’s own pace or at an estimated time commitment of 10 hours per week for one month, said Coursera chief content officer Marni Baker Stein.
“We see that there is tremendous interest on our platform in these types of STEM and STEM-adjacent industries in beauty and fashion,” said Stein, adding that 38 percent of female Coursera users are enrolled in STEM courses today, up from 35 percent in 2019.
Within the next five to 10 years, Coursera aims to increase that growth tenfold.
“Making the world of cosmetic science accessible to all is very exciting to us because it’s a pathway that a lot of women would be interested in pursuing, but it’s not obvious to most what the pathway is for getting there,” Stein continued.
To further support emerging and underrepresented talent in the field, Olay plans to unveil additional courses that “plot access across different STEM fields that are growing right now,” Wilkerson said.
“Our Olay brand ambition is all about bridging this gap; doubling the number of women in STEM, and doubling the number of women of color in STEM,” she said.
Scholarship recipients will also gain access to more than 6,900 courses via Coursera. To further set students up for success, Olay and Coursera are in talks with universities to “potentially enable prior learning credits” for those who complete the course, Wilkerson added.
Source: WWD