In June of 2020, the company announced that it would invest $400 million over five years to support Black businesses and communities and increase Black representation at Pepsi.
The company was also still working on other goals, including aiming to spend $272 million with Hispanic suppliers by 2020.
Simeon offered advice for other companies seeking to update their equity goals. Here are some pointers he suggested:
Set goals — and make a plan to achieve them: Defined goals always help a company or an entrepreneur keep working towards the zenith of their business journey. For eg., Pepsi pledged to meet several new goals, including increasing the number of Black managers by 30% and adding at least 100 Black associates to its executive ranks.
Make sure company leaders walk the walk: The company leaders should adopt the same policies for themselves that’d encourage everyone to be a part of their vision. For example, Ratan Tata recently announced social security schemes for the family members of employees affected by Covid-19.
Expand focus to the wider community: Supporting your employees to be a part of your vision and being vocal about it will help you to expand the idea to broader possibilities. Pepsi also supports local businesses and suppliers and makes sure businesses it works with are doing the same.
Provide support: The company also needs to take steps to make sure underrepresented employees don’t feel burdened having to educate their co-workers, especially when they’re already stressed or overly taxed.
To know more about how Pepsi reinvested in diversity, do give this a read:https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/how-pepsico-reinvesting-diversity-and-inclusion
