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2020 Racial Equality Journey message from our CEO
Through it all, one of the few bright spots has been the way we’ve rallied together as a company to support each other and stand up for our PepsiCo values. As we all know, PepsiCo is built on a foundation of diversity. We have long recognized that our company thrives when we reflect the communities we serve, and that our size and scale endow us with the ability, and responsibility, to help build a more equitable, more inclusive world.
This recognition is woven into many of our processes, from talent acquisition to innovation, and Raising the Bar on Talent and Diversity is a key behavior of The PepsiCo Way. Even still, as I said in June when we launched our Racial Equality Journey with a $400 million set of initiatives focused on lifting up Black communities, we know we have a lot of work to do—especially when it comes to building a more fair, safe and equitable society for all.
I was proud our launch in June focused on supporting Black Americans, and those efforts continue today. But that was only the beginning. The struggle for equality exists in many forms for different communities around the world. That is why I am equally proud to announce we are taking the next step in our Racial Equality Journey by accelerating our engagement with Hispanic Americans, both internally and externally.
As you can imagine, this effort is very personal for me. Beyond the deep commitment to equality inherited from my parents, having lived for several years as a Spanish-speaking immigrant in the U.S., I have grown to identify with this country’s vibrant, diverse Hispanic community. When I became CEO, I vowed to use my position to make the road easier for Hispanics and other groups impacted by systemic inequality, and that’s exactly what PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey is all about.
I’m pleased to say we are already taking important steps to meet the unique needs of Hispanic Americans, including:
- Implementing a multi-part strategy to support Hispanic talent within PepsiCo and the communities we serve. This includes attracting, retaining and developing Hispanic talent and doing our best to foster an inclusive culture that allows Hispanic associates to thrive.
- Investing in initiatives that help prepare people for the future of work.
- Identifying and supporting Hispanic-owned companies that can help accelerate our business.
- Forming dedicated Hispanic Business Units in both our North American beverage business (PBNA) and foods business (PFNA), laser focused on meeting the diverse needs of Hispanic consumers across the U.S. and Canada.
But we know that this is far from enough. That’s why I and our senior leadership team have spent the past few months engaging in conversations and listening to PepsiCo associates, including the leadership of our Hispanic Employee Resource Group (ERG), Adelante, as well as Hispanic community leaders and other advisors. We also formed a taskforce in partnership with the Global Diversity & Engagement team to determine how PepsiCo could best serve the Hispanic community in the U.S.
With these conversations in mind, we are proud to announce a three-pronged effort to lift up Hispanic Americans over five years, leveraging our scale and reach to catalyze positive change for People, Businesses, and Communities:
1. For People, that means a focus on increasing Hispanic managerial representation at PepsiCo;
2. For Businesses, that means building a network of resilient Hispanic-owned companies; and
3. For Communities, that means providing access to nutrition as well as higher education to unlock opportunity for Hispanics across America.
To accomplish these goals, we’re launching a $172 million set of initiatives over the next five years, in addition to our target spend with Hispanic suppliers.
As we embark on this new chapter of our Racial Equality Journey, we’re mindful of the need to ensure our methodology and approach remain consistent and convey an ambition commensurate with the scale of the challenges and opportunities. That is why our effort to support Hispanic communities focuses on the same three strategic pillars as our effort to support Black communities announced in June.
When it comes to People, we are focused on increasing our U.S. Hispanic managerial representation with targeted recruitment, retention and development, along with educational support and increasing cultural competency through specialized trainings. We’ll do this by:
1. Expanding Hispanic managerial representation to 10% of our workforce by 2025 to mirror workforce availability of the communities where we work by adding 120 Hispanic managers, including 50 Hispanic executives
2. Accelerating diverse recruitment efforts in partnership with national and local Hispanic organizations, plus minority-owned search firms
3. Retaining and developing our current Hispanic associates through targeted mentorship and capability building programs
4. Providing educational support through coaching and professional skills development
5. Building inclusion capability at all levels through increased training, building awareness and leadership development
When it comes to Business, we plan to help build a network of resilient Hispanic-owned companies by fortifying our current spending and growing organically with Hispanic-owned suppliers, partners and small businesses. This means aiming to increase relevant investments and expanding capabilities by:
6. Continuing to work toward this year’s $275 million investment in Hispanic-owned businesses by establishing relationships between top Hispanic-owned companies and PepsiCo buyers, while also expanding Hispanic-owned supplier capability in areas such as agriculture and sustainable packaging. We’ll use our scale to increase Hispanic representation across our suppliers, marketing agencies and professional service providers
7. Investing $87 million in PepsiCo’s Hispanic Business Units to further support our Hispanic customers
8. Using our scale to increase Hispanic representation across our suppliers, marketing agencies and professional service providers
9. Investing $50 million over five years to strengthen Hispanic-owned businesses by supporting business development, providing access to capital not available through traditional sources, and providing tools to address structural barriers to success
When it comes to supporting Hispanic Communities, we are providing access to higher education to unlock opportunity for Hispanics across America. We plan to invest $35 million over five years, which will focus on:
10. Expanding existing two-year/trade certificate Community College Scholarship program to include additional scholarships for Hispanic students
11. Providing scholarships for students transitioning from 2- to 4-year programs in our core headquarter locations: New York, Dallas, and Chicago
12. Funding community organization partners that deliver programs to uplift the Hispanic community
13. Expanding our flagship Food for Good program to provide jobs and access to nutritious food in more Hispanic communities
As we continue our journey to help forge a truly inclusive environment, we are going to keep listening—to leaders, communities, and all of you—and we will keep working to do the right thing. The road will be long, but the destination is worth it. As the Spanish proverb goes, “Donde hay gana, hay maña” — where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Thank you for your ongoing support of PepsiCo’s efforts to promote diversity and engagement in our company and communities. By continuing to reach for our highest ideals, I am confident we will not only keep winning in the market, we will also help bring about a more equitable world with fairness, safety and opportunity for all.
Ramon
