Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
We aim to have women fill 50% of our global
management positions by 2025.
43%
We aim to have 30% of our salaried U.S. employee
population identify as people of color by 2025.
29%
Corporate Highlights
At 草莓视频, we believe that everyone should have a seat at the table. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace because we believe that it makes us stronger, more thoughtful, and more innovative. We are committed not only to listening to different points of view but also to truly hearing them. By embracing diverse perspectives, we can make better decisions and create products that are enjoyed by consumers all over the world.
To help us continually improve, we collect data and feedback from a wide range of sources to inform our initiatives. This information helps us identify areas for improvement and develop data-driven plans to drive progress. As a result, we have established strategies to promote inclusive hiring, retention, development, and advancement to support our global aspirations. By taking these steps, we create a workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and respected.
We recognize the importance of learning and training opportunities to foster understanding and appreciation of diversity among our employees. As part of this commitment, we have introduced learning initiatives focused on interrupting bias in our Organizational People Review process to help managers identify and address unconscious bias in their assessments and conduct fair evaluations. Additionally, our global program The 57 Days of 草莓视频 Culture features a course called Living our Values. In this program employees hear from our CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera and reflect on what it means to live our Values every day in every way as we write our next chapter here at 草莓视频.
In our ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) journey, 草莓视频 continues to cultivate a robust culture of awareness, marked by noteworthy accomplishments and learning opportunities that foster inclusivity. We aim to foster a supportive community and shine a spotlight on exemplary leaders from diverse backgrounds. While we take pride in our progress, we recognize the ongoing need for further action. Our commitment remains steadfast as we strive to cultivate a workplace where every individual can flourish.The Global Inclusion Council serves as a cornerstone in our commitment to fostering DEI&B across our organization. Chaired by our CEO, this cross-functional group of leaders assumes a pivotal role, steering the DEI&B strategy, while providing essential governance, oversight, and reporting on our diversity initiatives.
Our Chief Learning and Diversity Officer leads this charge, reporting directly to the Global Chief People Officer. This officer oversees global strategy, collaborating closely with leaders throughout the organization. They work in tandem with the leadership of our Business Resource Groups (BRGs) to craft, execute, and implement plans aligned with priority initiatives and interventions. Leads across the organization operate within their regional People and Performance (P&P) organizations, with a dotted line reporting structure into the global team. This structured approach helps create a cohesive, coordinated effort in advancing our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging objectives across all levels of the organization.
[1] This is on our journey toward our ultimate aspiration of 31%. National average of population who identify as ethnic minorities is 14% across the U.K. and 40% within London. The aspiration is based on a weighted average of the split between our populations in our London office and our U.K. factories.
[2] This is on our journey towards our ultimate aspiration of 56%, which is the national average.
Executing a Global Strategy
Our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging vision is to harness our collective power across all dimensions of diversity so we can disrupt, innovate, and better serve our people, business, and communities. We continue to push ourselves to expand our impact across geographical regions while being thoughtful about the multiple definitions of diversity throughout the world.
To bring our Value, We demand diversity to life, our strategy encourages our leaders and managers to learn, practice, and model inclusive leadership鈥攅ngaging suppliers, partners, and vendors who align with our supplier diversity aspirations, strengthening our business, and actively collaborating with customers, consumers, partners, and suppliers to enrich the communities in which we operate.
Annual Day of Service
We celebrated our fourth annual 草莓视频 Day of Service on June 19, 2023, to honor and commemorate Juneteenth by encouraging our U.S. and Canada employees to mobilize their time, talent, and treasure for change. Employees heard from James Beard Award-Winning chef Eric Williams of Chicago鈥檚 Virtue Restaurant & Bar. He shared his career journey, the role of food in Black culture and community, and how allies have influenced his journey. The Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative (BKI) team brought to life 鈥淭he Black Kitchen Series鈥� podcast by inviting host Jade Verette to moderate a Fireside Chat with Chef Amethyst Ganaway and Galveston Historical Foundation鈥檚 Chair of African American Heritage, Tommie Boudreaux. Through partnerships with Generus, Goodr, and WeLoveU organizations, employees supported families and individuals across Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Toronto by volunteering to pack groceries, build STEM Education Kits, and clean up local parks. The Annual North America Zone Steps Challenge and United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Donation drive brought together business units in support of 鈥淗igher Education for All.鈥�
Employee Development
Over the past year, 草莓视频 has made significant strides in fostering employee development through a range of impactful initiatives and programs that create and nurture leaders from all backgrounds. The WeLead program relaunch expanded opportunities to employees across the organization. The 44 graduates participated in a five-month program designed to build our leaders鈥� personal, team, and organizational skillsets while addressing the needs of employees from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
The NextUp Soar program returned for a second year, and 27 women at the Associate Director level and above participated in the highly esteemed leadership conference in Chicago, where they learned the skills necessary for amplifying their executive knowledge and leadership goals. In its fourth year, the Women鈥檚 Empowerment (WE) Network leadership development program hosted its first in-person cohort for Ignite Week, a week dedicated to equipping participants with crucial insights and skills to drive their success as company leaders.
In North America, we launched our inaugural Inclusive Marketing Immersion, where our marketers were able to continue developing their cultural confidence and competence when designing work that authentically reflects our diverse consumer landscape. In the U.K., the Allyship Miniseries was introduced to better support, collaborate with, and advocate for people in our business from historically marginalized groups.
Supporting Working Parents and Caregivers
To help diversify our internal pipeline, we continue to invest in the development of our employees鈥� skills, knowledge, and abilities to help them perform their jobs more effectively and contribute to 草莓视频鈥檚 success. In 2022, we introduced two of McKinsey & Company鈥檚 award-winning leadership academies specifically designed for people of color: the Management Accelerator and Executive Leadership programs. These programs create psychologically safe spaces for leaders to unpack diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges and become more impactful in their careers.
We also piloted NextUp Soar program to give Associate Director level and above employees a career boost by elevating their executive skills and leadership goals. Participants learned skills to prepare them for growth, strengthen their influence, and inspire action and engagement by hearing from thought leaders and industry experts on the frontlines of a changing world. In China, we hosted an inaugural Women鈥檚 Leadership Day to celebrate the achievements of women in leadership roles and encourage the next generation of female leaders.
In its third year, the Women鈥檚 Empowerment Network accelerator program, which is designed to bring clarity to the skills needed to advance, graduated a cohort of 28 global participants. The program focuses beyond leadership skills to the whole person; it is designed to feed mind, body, and spirit. It helps participants understand they are not defined only by what they do, but also by who they are, and the potential they can unleash when they believe in themselves.
Fostering Inclusion and Employee Wellbeing with Business Resource Groups (BRGs)
Creating an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and heard is a fundamental component of our strategy, achieved through various educational opportunities in partnership with our Business Resource Groups (BRGs). Since 2016, BRGs have played an important role in our culture and have helped to advance our DEI&B efforts across 草莓视频. These employee-led groups are open to all employees regardless of how they identify and support career, community, and business initiatives at 草莓视频 as well as events related to their respective cultural, identity, or heritage communities, including Black History Month, Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, and Latin American/Hispanic Heritage Month.
Our BRGs in the North America Zone include:
- Asian Pacific American (APA) BRG
- Black BRG
- Disabilitiez BRG
- LiveWell
- Pride BRG
- Sabor BRG
- Veterans BRG
- Women鈥檚 BRG
Our BRGs in the International Zone include:
- Gender Equality Network (GEN)
- The 57
- Enable UK
- Livewell
- Proudz
- Reconciliation Working Group
To promote a more diverse and inclusive organization, our Value, We demand diversity, is our North Star around the globe and we challenge ourselves to bring this value to life every day. One way we do this is by continuing to invest in our BRGs so that they can provide a safe forum for employees and allies to raise awareness of issues facing various communities, advocate for change in company policies and practices, as well as celebrate the rich diversity of our employees.
In 2023, we welcomed two new BRGs: Disabilitiez in North America and Enable in the U.K. Both groups are dedicated to creating communities that foster compassion and advocate for universal design so everyone can thrive as their unique and authentic selves. In the U.K., the Enable BRG led our first observance of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. This included three significant events: a roundtable discussion, where employees shared ideas on how our Company can better support those with disabilities. The event also included a talk from the founder of TrueStart Coffee, who shared her perspective on living with ADHD viewing it as a superpower and a lunch-and-learn session featuring activities like lip reading and identifying Heinz products while blindfolded, helping participants understand the experiences of those with disabilities.
We look forward to continuing to celebrate diversity, promote equity, and create spaces where employees worldwide feel comfortable being themselves.
2023 Key Awards & Recognition
- Forbes 2023 Best Employers for Diversity
- Great Place to Work Certified in Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Korea, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Chile, Brazil, Middle East, and the Netherlands
- Seramount Inclusion Index Company
- Member, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index
- 2023 Rise & Lead Award, Parental Support Category - awarded by Rise & Lead Women for 草莓视频鈥檚 family support program in the Netherlands
