Women are as seldomly found in the boardroom as they are in the corner office. But companies like E.l.f. Beauty are making a commitment to be diverse — not just with words, but with actions. And it’s paying off with big sales and strong stock pricing.  By Andrea Nagel

E.l.f. isn’t just making headlines for becoming a top stock pick with major market analysts since blowing past earnings estimates for the past four quarters. Or for being the number-one makeup brand amongst the finicky Gen-Z crowd. Or for its tongue-wagging TikTok numbers.

In a recent interview on CNBC’s Mad Money, E.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin also made news for casually dropping that, out of nearly 4,200 public companies, E.l.f. Beauty is one of only four publicly traded companies in the U.S. with a Board of Directors comprised of at least two-thirds women and at least one-third minority representation. (The other three companies on the list? Victoria’s Secret, which is 86% female and 43% diverse; Knightscope, at 86% women and 43% diverse; and Nautilus, which is 67% female and 33% diverse, according to FactSet.)

Jim’s reaction to Tarang’s matter-of-factness was priceless.

“I’ve been doing this show for 17 years, I have a 31-year-old and a 28-year-old daughter, and it’s the first interview that I’m going to show them right now. Because you tell the truth. Tarang Amin is the King of this whole cohort, and you heard why, and I hope you are impressed with him, like I am.”

Tarang’s explanation as to exactly how he and his team built such a remarkable board of directors and workforce was equally remarkable in its philosophical simplicity. “I’d love to tell you it was hard to create a board as diverse as ours or a workforce as diverse as ours, but it wasn’t, it was easy,” said Tarang, who has been responsible for the selection of all board members since its creation. “All it took was intentionality and a real focus on our mission and purpose, and that really drives us.”

He went on, in refreshing plain-speak, to explain, “When your employees represent the community you serve, you make decisions that ultimately drive better results.”