Pyramids of promise

Multi-level marketing schemes can sound like a dream come true to aspirational and often underemployed women, but who actually profits from them, and at what cost?

WORDS by GENEVIEVE GANNON

When “Sarah” attended a training day that promised to help her sell lipstick, she was hoping to get some business lessons and a few tips on how to apply make-up. She had recently signed on to sell SeneGence cosmetics after the friend who had introduced her to the products told her she could get a discount if she became a distributor. Sarah’s intention had only ever been to buy the colours she wanted and sell some on to people who were interested. She really liked the lipstick, after all, and you couldn’t buy it in stores. But as she sat listening to the company’s training, she had the sickening realisation that what she had signed up for was not really about make-up at all. “The whole thing was about marketing.…

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The Australian Women's Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2022

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