September 25, 2019

Finding a Purpose in Diversity, with Mita Mallick

Episode 23:

Mita Mallick is a corporate change maker who believes businesses have a responsibility to make social impact.

As the Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Marketing at Unilever, Mita’s efforts to build an inclusive culture are being celebrated. Under her leadership, Unilever is gender-balanced at the manager level and above. Unilever was named the #1 Company for Working Mothers by Working Mother Media in 2018. She also co-created the first of its kind Cultural Immersions series to increase the cultural competency of marketers training over 4,000 marketers to date.

Mita has also had an extensive career in the beauty and consumer products goods space. Mita is a passionate storyteller who believes in the power of diversity to transform businesses and brands. She was one of the chief lieutenants in launching The Vaseline Healing Project in the U.S., signing award-winning actress & activist Viola Davis as the brand’s ambassador.

Mita was named a Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It (formerly Advertising Women of New York) and a Valiente Award Finalist at SXSW for her inspiring work in 2019. She received the Inaugural Diversity Innovator Award from the National Association for Female Executives in 2018 and was on the “50 People Under 40 Shaking Up Beauty” Youthquake List by Women’s Wear Daily 2017.

Mita has a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from Duke University.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How working at Unilever – and her family background – helped Mita discover her purpose
  • What Mita’s background in marketing has done to contribute to her work with diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • The qualities and knowledge marketing professionals need to be leaders in the modern workplace
  • The importance of examining intent and impact from a marketing perspective
  • Understanding backgrounds and how cultural competencies affect marketing
  • What Unilever’s brand campaigns have done to draw attention to diversity and inclusion
  • How Unilever is fighting stigmas around a variety of issues and helping their employees
  • Mita’s advice for practitioners just starting out in diversity, equity, and inclusion

Additional resources: