When it comes to gender inequality, we’ve all heard of the ‘pay gap’. But what about the ‘orgasm gap’? With only 65% of women achieving orgasm during sex, compared to 95% of men, OMGYes is a website that offers advice to women in need of a little know-how in the field of sexual pleasure.

Cult Beauty has launched #Vulvalution, a sexual wellness and pleasure platform that's raising awareness through education. The sexual care market is being redefined as part of the beauty industry, catering to women who want more control of their sexual health and enjoyment.

The invention of synthetic and hormonal contraception revolutionised female sexual health by providing a greater sense of control over one’s body. But there’s now a growing dissatisfaction with artificial products, driving demand for ‘natural’ alternatives. How are brands tapping into this shift?

Whether it’s through community activism, inclusive ads at the Super Bowl, special accommodations in stores, or body positivity in games, people want their identities, histories, and stories built into the fabric of broader culture. They want those who represent them to provide tangible action to support and platform the experiences of their communities. As the founder of eponymous streetwear brand Mikey Trapstar summarised in an interview with The Face: “The reason we are here today is because a particular culture has supported us. We started at the bottom and worked hard to get to where we are. We now have a responsibility to give back, we have to make sure we keep the culture alive.” People have learned to spot virtue-signalling by those who don’t truly have a vested interest in representing a community, meaning that lip service and tokenism will quickly be called out. This shift is a reaction to the surface-level allyship that became commonplace in the years following protests in the summer of 2020 as businesses that failed to address their historic and internal systemic issues rushed to align themselves with marginalised communities without acknowledging or investigating their own practices and structures. Progress has been made since 2020, with 60% of organisations surveyed by diversity and inclusion consultancy Paradigm in 2022 reporting that they had DE&I strategies in place – although only 16% had clear goals for improving racial representation. Many have bemoaned the short-lived gains made since 2020 as declines in media diversity have revealed the shallowness of these commitments, while others feel that companies are only an economic downturn away from reversing that hard-won progress. For some, inequality seems baked into the corporate system, and the only solution is to hand control to those who have a stake in seeing the communities they represent flourish. Brands that understand the value of working with diverse communities are responding with active collaborations year-round and proving their efforts are not just for a marketing moment. They’re championing inclusivity that takes into account the internal disparities within communities, while some are highlighting forgotten histories that have been whitewashed, giving people an opportunity to connect to meaningful, positive, and diverse stories. Loyalty and legitimacy are hallmarks of genuinely progressive brands that understand that collectivism is key to long-term success, which requires an investment in equitable culture internally and externally.