Essay Sample on PepsiCo's Gender Diversity: 10 Execs, 13 Board Members, 3 Women

Introduction

The US-based Pepsico has ten consecutive officers, out of which two are females, and the remaining eight members are males (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). Apart from that, the company also has a board of directors comprising of thirteen members from various committees such as the audit committee, compensation committee, nominating and corporate governance committee, and public policy and sustainability committee. Among these thirteen members of the board of directors, three of them are women. Pepsico is doing well in addressing gender sensitivity in the leadership of the US-based company (Ferdman & Deane, 2014).

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The Current Diversity Among the US-Based Leadership Team at PepsiCo

The US-based leadership team at Pepsico is highly diverse and inclusive. The company currently has 27% of women and 36% of people of color as senior executives, which is a great move to promote diversity and inclusion (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). The company believes that diversity and inclusion are imperative to business performance. The belief is consistent with research findings citing that more success can be expected of companies with diverse and inclusive leadership than those with homogenous leadership (Ferdman & Deane, 2014).

The Current Status of Inclusion among the US-Based Leadership Team at PepsiCo

Pepsico has a strong legacy of leading in diversity and inclusion in its leadership team. The company believes that diversity and inclusion are imperative to business success (Foma, 2014). Currently, the company has a good record of having the excellent engagement of diverse groups in its leadership team, including women and people of color.

Benchmark Practices to Increase Diversity

Various benchmarking practices can significantly improve diversity in the organization. Internal benchmarking is the comparison of the performance of a given department with the other within the organization. Pepsico can embrace internal benchmarking to compare the performance of a department with a diverse workforce with that of the other department with a homogenized workforce (Foma, 2014). Internal benchmarking itself allows employees to interact in the organization, learn from each other, and appreciate differences among themselves. Internal benchmarking activities are, thus, necessary for Pepsico to improve diversity in the company. Competitive benchmarking activities are also suitable for increasing diversity (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). As the company let its employees interact with other employees from different companies, they learn from each other and are also strengthened and encouraged to work together as a team but not as an individual (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). Promoting equality at the workplace is one of the significant benchmark practices that will foster unity and inclusion of all cultures and people at the workplace. It should always be upheld as much as possible.

Benchmark Practices Help to Increase Inclusion

Benchmark practices that improve inclusion of all workers in the company are as follows: Encouraging teamwork is a great practice that boosts inclusion in the workplace (Foma, 2014). Collaboration enables workers to come together to do a specific task. While doing so, they borrow opinions, ideas, and knowledge from each other. In the process interaction, employees learn about each other's cultures and values. They appreciate each other's cultures and are united in one accord to take the company's goal ahead (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). Another benchmark practice that improves inclusion is diversity and inclusion training. The company can offer training for its employees on cultural differences among people from different cultures and backgrounds. The training enhances self-identities and helps them learn about others too. They appreciate the differences that exist among them and see the good in the diversity rather than negativity.

Best Practices Help to Increase Diversity

Best practices that encourage diversity include the following. Organizing and encouraging workers to participate in various employee resource groups. Employee resource groups are opportunities where employees interact with each other, share ideas, grow, and develop their talents. These groups are significant in promoting diversity among employees in an organization. Another practice is mixing up the teams (Foma, 2014). Employees from diverse cultures and backgrounds should be mixed up in employee groups so that they can interact and contribute to the growth of the company through the contribution of different knowledge and strategies. Moreover, the company can increase diversity by encouraging employee opinions (Ferdman & Deane, 2014). The view of employees from diverse cultures can be great mixes of ideas that can help the company grow tremendously. As a result, the various workers will most likely develop innovation within the company leading to better performance.

Best Practices Help to Increase Inclusion

The best practices to boost inclusion at the workplace include the following. The company should support teams of employees. Groups serve as units within which employees develop knowledge and skills. Employees working as a team have a high chance of advancing in their ideologies and competencies (Zhou & Park, 2013). Teamwork contributes to quality interaction among employees with different experiences, knowledge, and skills (Ferdman & Deane, 2014). Belonging to teams is an excellent way of making employees feel included in company affairs. Another practice is encouraging people to contribute their opinions freely and involve them in making decisions concerning the growth of the company. Offering a listening ear to employees may convince them that they are highly valued and needed in that company (Purkayastha & Rao, 2017). In addition to that, encouraging feedback and recognition to employees is another crucial point of making them feel included in the group.

References

Ferdman, B. M., & Deane, B. (2014). Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion. Retrieved from https://cmminstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/4-Wasserman-Strengthening-Interpersonal-Awareness-and-Relational-Eloquence-in-Ferdman-and-Deane-Diversity-at-Work-The-Practice-of-Inclusion.pdf

Foma, E. (2014). Impact of workplace diversity. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 3(1), 382. Retrieved from http://buscompress.com/uploads/3/4/9/8/34980536/riber_sk14-026__402-410_.pdf

Purkayastha, D., & Rao, A. S. (2017). Sustainable development at PepsiCo. In Case Studies in Sustainability Management (pp. 77-98). Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351287722/chapters/10.4324/9781351287722-12

Zhou, P., & Park, D. D. (2013). Which Organizations are Best in Class in Managing Diversity and Inclusion, and What Does their Path of Success Look Like? Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/46/