That is why Raising the Bar on Talent and Diversity is a key behavior of our culture, The PepsiCo Way. This ensures that diversity, equity, and inclusion are embedded in our DNA and tightly woven into our strategy. Once nurtured, this not only provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it also fosters an environment of dignity and respect for employees of every race, background, orientation and belief.

To me, the ultimate objective is to become a company that is focused on equity and genuinely inclusive. We want anyone who walks into our offices or premises to feel that they don’t have to change, that they don’t have to be someone else to reach their maximum potential, and that they have tools to meet their specific needs and goals.

During a year of so much adversity, this has never been more critical. Throughout the pandemic, our associates embraced the opportunity to drive positive change amongst our teams and beyond our walls. In this year’s Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report, you will read about our actions across three distinct pillars: People, Business, and Community.

You will also read personal accounts from our associates across the world. Their amazing talent, dedication, and passion have enabled us to progress toward our gender parity goal, increase diverse representation at the managerial level, and improve pay equity -- all essential elements of realizing our aspiration to be not only a successful company, but a sustainable one. A company that can best meet the needs of its consumers, customers, and communities, whilst delivering on our mission to Create More Smiles with Every Sip and Every Bite.

Like many of our peers, PepsiCo is on a journey from awareness to commitment to action. I am proud to say that our commitment to equity and inclusion is stronger today than at any time in our history. We understand that diversity of thought and experience gives us valuable strategic insights, fuels our innovation, and helps us attract the best talent. But even though I am proud of our progress, I know there is still more work to do.

As we take the next steps on our journey, we will remain committed to the principles of diversity and transparency, whilst stepping up our action in partnership with employees, consumers, customers, and communities. Only by working together can we reach PepsiCo’s DE&I goals and, most importantly, become the kind of society we aspire to build.

PepsiCo Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

July 2021

Perspective

An interview with Tina Bigalke

Why is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) so important for PepsiCo?

The case for diversity is incontrovertible. At PepsiCo, DEI is part of our values and are key drivers of our business. We recognize we operate at our best when we respect, embrace, and celebrate our individual differences and perspectives. And cultivating a workforce that reflects the diversity of our consumers, customers and communities, fuels our innovation, enables us to deliver best-in-class service and meet the needs of those we serve.

What have you learned in your first year as Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer?

Since taking on this role last June, I have been inspired and encouraged by the drive of our associates and PepsiCo’s unwavering commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our workforce, business partnerships and our communities. Despite the challenges of the past year, it was a year filled with some of the most educational and inspirational moments of my career.

DEI is not a destination for PepsiCo; we are continually striving to improve attraction, retention, and advancement of diverse associates to ensure we sustain the best and brightest talent who represent the communities we serve. That’s why we’ve evolved our strategy from Diversity & Engagement to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; launched a Racial Equality Journey in the U.S. to help address inequities faced by Black and Hispanic Americans within and outside the walls of PepsiCo; and continued our progress towards our gender parity and pay equity goals.

Through our actions, I’ve learned that when we collectively harness our passion, identify our desired end state and commit to delivering on ambitious goals, we can effect transformational change.

What new commitments did PepsiCo make this past year to address systemic racism and inequities in the U.S.?

In June 2020, our Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta announced our Racial Equality Journey to elevate diverse voices within our company, our supply chain partners, and communities, while helping to break down longstanding racial barriers. We began with PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey Black Initiative, an investment of $400+ million over five years to increase Black representation at PepsiCo, supporting Black-owned businesses and communities. We built on this in October 2020 with our Racial Equality Journey Hispanic Initiative, investing an additional $172 million on a set of initiatives over five years to empower Hispanic Americans, in addition to spending $224 million with Hispanic suppliers in 2020. This brings PepsiCo’s investments over the next five years to more than $570 million dedicated to Black and Hispanic communities, remaining one of a few companies committed to address inequities in these communities with concrete commitments to effect meaningful change.

How do PepsiCo’s brands help drive DEI?

Our brands have long focused on amplifying diverse voices and leveraging their platforms for purpose. Bubly, for instance, has continuously engaged the LGBTQ+ community since launching with an openly gay man as its first spokesperson. Staying true to its roots as a women-founded brand, Stacy’s Pita Chips launched the Rise Project, investing more than $300,000 to help women entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Additionally, following the tragic murder of George Floyd, PepsiCo brands advanced our racial equality work by donating, raising funds for or investing more than $2.6 million dollars to the cause.

What do you feel is your most important priority as a Global Chief DE&I Officer in this time?

I am focused on ensuring PepsiCo continues to take bold steps to further unlock our ability to innovate for our consumers, deliver first-class service for our customers, and cultivate a workforce that reflects our communities—and we can only do so by focusing on equity, as diversity is not enough on its own. Equity is about leveling the playing field, creating the foundation and environment that acknowledges our differences and individual challenges. Once we achieve that, we can we reach an equitable and inclusive space where everyone, regardless of what you look like, where you come from or who you love, feels equally empowered and able to thrive—and that is a priority.

Moreover, as we progress toward achieving our goals, we remain focused on leading by example and inspiring others to continue to listen and take meaningful action to create a more equitable and inclusive world. We are operating in a time where society is looking to corporations to make big, structural changes, particularly in the journey for racial equality, and those changes cannot be achieved by one corporation, one entity, or one person. We must all be committed to being agents of progress.

Continued ...

Progress at PepsiCo: A message from our CHRO

We are charting a new course to drive positive action for the planet and our people as part of our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda, and remain committed to being transparent about our actions. Currently, we are tracking our progress as a company for two specific goals:

• Gender Parity: Achieve 50% women in global management roles by 2025.
• U.S. Black and Hispanic Managerial Representation: Increase U.S. Black and Hispanic managerial representation to 10%, respectively, to mirror workforce availability of the communities where we operate. A goal that is part of our more than $570 million set of commitments to advance racial equality.

As of Q2 2021, we've increased our global female managerial representation to 43%. In the U.S., we've maintained Black and Hispanic managerial representation at 8% and 9%, respectively.

While it’s clear there’s more work to do, I am confident that this increased transparency, coupled with our concerted efforts and dedication, will ensure our diversity journey continues to enable us to fulfill our mission to Create More Smiles with Every Sip and Every Bite.

Ronald