L’Oréal

"A good place to start a career - especially in Marketing."

"Women (scientists) are often promoted here. The support staff is the least happy because they are often overlooked and underappreciated. R&I isn't "sexy" when you think about the cosmetics industry. Corporate feels as though they are more appreciated and as though the company "cares.""

"It takes a very specific woman to work here, especially in certain departments. It can be very political and if you don't enjoy socializing with your colleagues outside of work, it can be very difficult to move up. If you don't make friends with the right people (not necessarily management), it can be tricky to move forward. Can be very cliquey and people can gang up on you. Certain roles are more favorable to women than others. There are a lot of hours (sometimes meaning you just have to physically be at work) that cannot necessarily be just reduced by being better organized. Although, I do not have a family, I could see that if you had one it would be challenging as I have often worked 10-12 hours a day 6-7 days a week."

"I believe that woman or not, it's very hard to find support here. This was the first time for me working in a company where current employees have advised not to work here for an extended amount of time. Everyone is swamped all the time and almost everyone I've met works more than 40 hours a week. HR systems and onboarding is not organized and it's a very 'sink or swim" type of environment. To succeed, you really have to be the type of person to be demanding in what you want and almost push people around. There seems to be a lot of blaming and culture is very individualistic and management states that we are moving towards a culture of collaboration but it is not implemented. If you enjoy being a part of a supportive and united culture, as I do, I believe that you cannot find it here. People seem to work here to be promoted to a high position in another company and I have seen groups of people from diffrent departments quitting from being overworked. "

"Long hours, a lot of corporate bureaucracy. You don't get promoted based on merit but politics."

"I worked for L'Oreal for 20 years in 4 different brands and 3 different divisions. I loved the experience and found it to give me the ammunition I now need to start my own business. I was laid off twice & rehired once, took my fully paid maternity leave & chose not to extend it to a 50% paid leave for an additional 13 weeks with job protection. It is highly competitive at L'Oreal and you have to stay on your toes and stay very current with the knowledge of your industry. Also, there are a lot of expats working at L'Oreal that are extremely ambitious and want to move up fast. Just be prepared to hold your own in a French culture of debate, have a thick skin, and get ready for an exhilarating adventure!"

"Generally I believe they are treated fairly but management is male-dominated and not diverse, which makes it tougher for women to "network" with them. Mid-level women don't seem to advance because of these subtle issues. Also, while maternity leave is generous here I think women are judged harshly by some colleagues and managers for taking the full time."

"Long hours"

"Time management is key. You have to be organized at home to excel here."