L'Oréal

Who are you? And where do you come from?

Hello! My name is Prune Houvion and I am turning 25 this year. I was born and raised in Nanterre, a town next to Paris and because I was passionate about languages, I chose to do a French-German curriculum for most of my middle-school and high-school years.

I studied Public Affairs, Economics, and International Law at Sciences Po Paris, which allowed me to go to the US for a (life-changing) year, where I had Gender Studies and Mathematics classes.

In between my 2 years of Master, I did internships at the CNRS and the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, and then I joined L’Oréal for an apprenticeship in August 2021, in the French DE&I team. Since September 2022, I have been in charge of Employee Engagement, External Communication, and Public Affairs for DE&I topics in France.

How did you discover L'Oréal?

Of course, like everyone, I have been using L’Oréal products since I was a child – my mom always ensured we had a Mixa Cream on our beauty shelves!

But in terms of even thinking that I could work at L’Oréal and then apply for an apprenticeship, I like to say that it was an encounter that was “meant to be”.

Indeed, I never imagined myself working for a big company: I studied Public Affairs and wanted to get involved in a public structure or work for an NGO.

However, I had a couple of friends who were interns or apprentices at L’Oréal and who told me how great the DE&I initiatives were and how involved the teams were. It took some convincing, but I finally decided that I should “go see for myself” and… I was not disappointed!

What is your favorite part of your job? 

The fact that it is always a “work-in-progress” job. What I mean is that the work to become ever more inclusive is never finished. There is always a way go to further, always new people to learn from, and new projects to put in place.

You always have the incentive to do better and more – which makes it humbling and exciting at the same time!

What surprised you when you arrived at L'Oréal?

What surprised me is how agile L’Oréal is, even though it is such a big company. “Impossible” is not a L’Oréal word: when there is willingness and energy, nothing is TOO big or TOO complicated.

Your missions in a few words? 

My mission is to make L’Oréal the most inclusive workplace possible. In my team, we work to make sure that every L’Oréal employee in France is included and valued regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, origin, or disability.

On a daily basis, this means organizing events, creating content, and reaching out to external experts (whether institutions, other companies, or NGOs) to raise awareness on DE&I topics and break stereotypes and taboos.

A lesson you learned at L'Oréal?

I learned that the effort you make to go out of your comfort zone is worth it! Once you find the courage to reach out and speak to people that you do not know, beautiful things might happen, both professionally and personally. Don’t overthink it like I did (and still do a lot of times!). You are not bothering people when you ask to get a coffee with them!