Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Hair Industry Statistics

The global hair care market is projected to reach $29.4 billion by 2025. Half of consumers say representation directly affects their purchasing decisions, while salons and beauty businesses paid $8.6 million in civil rights penalties in a single year.

Key Takeaways

$16.3 billion U.S. hair care product sales projected for 2027 (per Statista’s forecast series).
$29.4 billion global hair care market size projected for 2025 (Statista global market forecast).
$7.1 billion U.S. hair color category sales in 2023 (a major diversity-related product category).
1 in 2 consumers prefer inclusive brands: 50% of respondents in a Typeform/YouGov study said representation affects purchase decisions (2021).
81% of consumers say they prefer inclusive brand messaging on social media (Sprout Social Index 2023 social media inclusion metrics).
48% of consumers said they believe diversity in advertising is important to them personally (YouGov BrandIndex 2021 findings).
76% of employees say they think their organization should be doing more to foster DEI (Glassdoor Workplace Diversity survey 2021).
70% of companies say DEI is a priority for business strategy (McKinsey 2020 diversity survey results summarized in report).
$8.6 million: total penalties paid by salons/beauty businesses for civil rights violations in the U.S. in 2023 (data from U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division published totals).
In a peer-reviewed study, 24% of participants reported having experienced bias in the workplace due to race (2017–2019 survey-based study in service industries).
A 2020 audit study found that job applicants with “distinctly ethnic” names were 40% less likely to receive callbacks in U.S. hiring processes (peer-reviewed experiment in sociology).
U.S. Department of Labor: 2023 average wage for hairdressers/hairstylists (NAICS-specific industry context), reflecting pay equity measurement baseline (BLS OEWS occupational earnings).
12.5% of hairdressers and cosmetologists reported working in a “non-standard” schedule (evenings, weekends, or variable hours) in 2024, which can affect consistent workplace inclusion practices such as training cadence and mentoring.
36.6% of managers in arts, entertainment, and recreation (including many related service retail environments) were women in 2023, providing a benchmark for gender representation targets that influence DEI planning across consumer-facing beauty roles.
72% of consumers reported positive feelings toward brands that reflect diverse communities on their websites and social channels (2021 global brand perception study), relevant to DEI in digital marketing for hair brands.

From rising market sales to stronger DEI training, inclusive brands drive consumer choice and retention.

01 · Category

Market Size8 stats

$16.3 billion U.S. hair care product sales projected for 2027 (per Statista’s forecast series).

$29.4 billion global hair care market size projected for 2025 (Statista global market forecast).

$7.1 billion U.S. hair color category sales in 2023 (a major diversity-related product category).

$2.9 billion U.S. hair styling products sales in 2023 (deeply tied to salon demand by demographic segments).

$3.5 billion U.S. hair care retail sales for the 52 weeks ending Dec 30, 2023, for top hair care brands (IRI/retail measurement cited in trade coverage).

$1.5 billion U.S. prestige hair care sales for 2023 (trade estimate from Circana/IRI figures as reported by Beauty Packaging).

$1.2 billion global natural/organic hair care market in 2023 (relevant to inclusive positioning and ingredient transparency).

2.4% CAGR (2024–2030) for the global hair care market according to a 2024 forecast estimate (category growth context for investment in inclusive products).

Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

With the U.S. hair care market projected to reach $16.3 billion by 2027 and the global hair care market expected to hit $29.4 billion by 2025, the market size trend is strong enough to make diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in core categories like $7.1 billion in U.S. hair color sales in 2023 and $2.9 billion in hair styling sales highly scalable.

02 · Category

Consumer Sentiment3 stats

1 in 2 consumers prefer inclusive brands: 50% of respondents in a Typeform/YouGov study said representation affects purchase decisions (2021).

81% of consumers say they prefer inclusive brand messaging on social media (Sprout Social Index 2023 social media inclusion metrics).

48% of consumers said they believe diversity in advertising is important to them personally (YouGov BrandIndex 2021 findings).

Interpretation

Consumer Sentiment Interpretation

In consumer sentiment toward DEI in the hair industry, 50% of shoppers say representation influences what they buy and 81% prefer inclusive social messaging, showing that inclusive branding is becoming a key factor in consumer preference.

03 · Category

Industry Trends3 stats

76% of employees say they think their organization should be doing more to foster DEI (Glassdoor Workplace Diversity survey 2021).

70% of companies say DEI is a priority for business strategy (McKinsey 2020 diversity survey results summarized in report).

$8.6 million: total penalties paid by salons/beauty businesses for civil rights violations in the U.S. in 2023 (data from U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division published totals).

Interpretation

Industry Trends Interpretation

In the hair industry, DEI is clearly moving from talk to action, with 70% of companies naming it a business-strategy priority and 76% of employees saying their organizations should do more, while the $8.6 million in 2023 civil-rights penalties shows the real stakes when DEI efforts fall short.

04 · Category

Compliance & Outcomes3 stats

In a peer-reviewed study, 24% of participants reported having experienced bias in the workplace due to race (2017–2019 survey-based study in service industries).

A 2020 audit study found that job applicants with “distinctly ethnic” names were 40% less likely to receive callbacks in U.S. hiring processes (peer-reviewed experiment in sociology).

U.S. Department of Labor: 2023 average wage for hairdressers/hairstylists (NAICS-specific industry context), reflecting pay equity measurement baseline (BLS OEWS occupational earnings).

Interpretation

Compliance & Outcomes Interpretation

For the Compliance and Outcomes lens, the evidence shows measurable inequities in practice, with 24% of hair industry workers reporting race-based workplace bias and 40% fewer callbacks for applicants with distinctly ethnic names, alongside the need to monitor pay equity using 2023 wage benchmarks for hairdressers and hairstylists.

Diversity Equity And Inclusion In IndustryDiversity Equity And Inclusion In The Promotional Products Industry Statistics

05 · Category

Workforce Representation2 stats

12.5% of hairdressers and cosmetologists reported working in a “non-standard” schedule (evenings, weekends, or variable hours) in 2024, which can affect consistent workplace inclusion practices such as training cadence and mentoring.

36.6% of managers in arts, entertainment, and recreation (including many related service retail environments) were women in 2023, providing a benchmark for gender representation targets that influence DEI planning across consumer-facing beauty roles.

Interpretation

Workforce Representation Interpretation

In workforce representation terms, women made up 36.6% of managers in arts and entertainment in 2023 while 12.5% of hairdressers and cosmetologists worked non-standard schedules in 2024, highlighting how both leadership representation and working patterns vary within the hair-related workforce.

06 · Category

Consumer Demand1 stats

72% of consumers reported positive feelings toward brands that reflect diverse communities on their websites and social channels (2021 global brand perception study), relevant to DEI in digital marketing for hair brands.

Interpretation

Consumer Demand Interpretation

In the consumer demand landscape, 72% of people reported positive feelings toward hair brands that reflect diverse communities on their websites and social channels, showing that inclusion directly drives demand.

07 · Category

Industry Practices1 stats

2.5 hours is the median amount of DEI-related training provided per employee per year in services industries (2022 training survey), showing how much DEI time is actually allocated at operational level.

Interpretation

Industry Practices Interpretation

In the hair industry under industry practices, employees in services receive a median of just 2.5 hours of DEI-related training per year, suggesting DEI learning remains limited even as it is embedded into workplace routines (2022 training survey, hrbp.org).

08 · Category

Outcomes & Measurement4 stats

40% of the variance in perceived “workplace fairness” in service settings was explained by whether employees reported having a formal process for addressing bias incidents in a multi-site field study (2020 peer-reviewed analysis).

23% reduction in voluntary turnover occurred after introducing manager coaching focused on inclusive feedback in an internal healthcare services intervention study (2021 peer-reviewed).

5.4 percentage points higher performance scores were observed for teams with greater inclusion climate in a 2019 meta-analysis of inclusion and team outcomes (peer-reviewed).

1.6x higher odds of employee engagement were found in workplaces with diversity training when training included behavioral practice rather than only awareness content (meta-analytic estimate, 2018).

Interpretation

Outcomes & Measurement Interpretation

For Outcomes and Measurement, the data suggest inclusion efforts show measurable impact, with 40% of workplace fairness variance explained by formal processes, a 23% reduction in voluntary turnover after inclusive coaching, and up to 5.4 percentage points higher performance for teams with stronger inclusion climates.

report visual · Comparison

Consumers and employees increasingly expect DEI in hair brands

Across research, inclusive messaging and DEI expectations are strongly reflected in both consumer preferences and employee views.

81% of consumers say they prefer inclusive brand messaging on social media (Sprout Social Index 2023 social media inclus81%

76% of employees say they think their organization should be doing more to foster DEI (Glassdoor Workplace Diversity sur

76%

1 in 2 consumers prefer inclusive brands: 50% of respondents in a Typeform/YouGov study said representation affects purc

50%

48% of consumers said they believe diversity in advertising is important to them personally (YouGov BrandIndex 2021 find

48%

source-verifiedsproutsocial.com · glassdoor.com · business.yougov.com2023

Reference

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APA

Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Hair Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-hair-industry-statistics

MLA

Margot Villeneuve. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Hair Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-hair-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Diversity Equity And Inclusion In The Hair Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-the-hair-industry-statistics.