16280: Working The Journey Jive At PepsiCo.

 

Advertising Age reported on DE&I progress at PepsiCo, which looked suspiciously like the performative PR so prevalent across Adland and brands.

 

For starters, the only person quoted was PepsiCo’s Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, who spouted the standard line, “While there’s more work to be done, we remain committed to our journey…” Why doesn’t anyone ever declare there’s no more work to be done? Granted, it’s an ongoing process—but “there’s more work to be done” is a common dodge delivered by failures.

 

Of course, the PR included hyping heat shields. And there are plenty of percentages without hard numbers. Keep in mind, 10% of nothing is nothing. It’s the equivalent of boasting a bazillion% increase in crumbs—knowing full well that the alleged gain for minorities is still wildly less than the money doled out to White men (as well as White women, under the guise of achieving goals for diversity vendors).

 

Speaking of vendors, there is never acknowledgement for the abject hypocrisy of brands like PepsiCo who chant about being committed to justice journeys while continuing to partner with White advertising agencies—where diversity is a dream deliberately delegated, deferred, delayed, and denied.

 

PepsiCo Posts Gains In Management Roles Held By Women, Black And Hispanic Leaders

 

The company’s latest DE&I report shows increased representation in the U.S. and other markets

 

By Erika Wheless

 

PepsiCo is on track to have 50% of its management roles globally held by women by 2025 and Black and Hispanic manager representation is rising in its U.S. business, the beverage and snack maker announced in its new 2022 global diversity, equity, and inclusion report.

 

Women held 44% of PepsiCo’s management roles globally in 2022, up from 43% in 2021 and 41% in 2020. Last year, women filled around 50% of management roles in the U.K, two years ahead of schedule.

 

Black representation at the manager level in the U.S. increased to 9% in 2022, up from 8.3% in 2021. The goal is 10% by 2025. Hispanic representation at the manager level in the U.S. reached just over 10%, up from 9.5% in 2021. That 10% target was hit three years ahead of schedule.

 

Through 2022, the company supported nearly 1,000 Black-owned and Hispanic-owned businesses through programs including the PepsiCo Foundation’s Black Restaurant Accelerator program and PepsiCo Juntos Crecemos, which offer coaching, marketing, online presence support and delivery logistics.

 

The DE&I initiatives are part of PepsiCo’s larger pep+, or PepsiCo Positive agenda, which includes goals around agricultural practices, sustainable supply chain and packaging improvements, and reducing added sugars, sodium and saturated fats in PepsiCo products.

 

PepsiCo also gave updates on its initiatives around the world. In Brazil, the company has committed to increasing Black representation in leadership roles by 2025. In 2022, 35% of new hires in Brazil were from the Black community. PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation also partnered with the University of Paris II Leadership Council to give Arab female students the opportunity to pursue higher education in law and to enter the workforce through the Rania Rizk Young Arab Women Leaders Scholarship program.

 

“While there’s more work to be done, we remain committed to our journey and to harnessing the power and passion of the changemakers in this report – all of whom are united in their efforts to build a more equitable workplace and society,” Tina Bigalke, PepsiCo’s global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, said in a statement.

 

PepsiCo has been previously recognized on lists including Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, Seramount’s Top Companies for Executive Women, Diversity Inc's Top Companies for Diversity, and Disability Equality Index’s Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion.