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RACIAL EQUITY JOURNEY
A message from ROBERT PERKINS, Chief Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Our Commitment to a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive MDLZ
Mondelēz International takes seriously our commitment to help advance racial equity and inclusion among our colleagues, culture and communities. We believe we are stronger through our diverse and connected community, that racism has no place in any society, and that we will achieve racial equity by supporting our workforce and external partners so that they have what they need to be successful. We measure our success through our words, behaviors, programs, partnerships, and most importantly our progress against goals.
We are engaged in advancing the cause of DE&I and racial equality on numerous fronts, and we are dedicated to continuously evolving and enhancing our approach. Mondelēz International already provides transparent disclosure across numerous DE&I measures, and we believe our robust, multifaceted approach has initiated a path to help improve the root conditions necessary to create great workplaces for all in our organization and the community at large.
Key Highlights
OUR AIM* | PROGRESS | |
|---|---|---|
Aim to double | In September 2020, we announced our goal to double our Black representation percentage in U.S. management roles by 2024; our 2020 baseline was 3.2% and we ended 2023 at ~6.3% | |
Expand | Our ambition is to build a more diverse set of leaders and to do that we invest in early career development as a key entry point to increased diversity within our company's leadership; in the U.S. we are proud of our progress, nearly tripling diverse placements from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to our early career program since 2020 | |
Launch | Sponsored by our Mondelēz International African Ancestry Council, and Latino Employee Council respectively, our mentorship programs in the U.S. have had a tremendous response with participants providing strong positive feedback | |
Invest in | To build inclusive leadership practices and greater cultural competency, our signature MDLZ inclusivity training is provided for senior people managers | |
Mobilize | We believe in inclusive marketing – our company and many of our brands became partners with Unstereotyped Alliance in 2021, with the goal of helping to address harmful stereotypes in media and advertising content | |
Aim to spend | As of year-end 2023, we reached a total spend of approximately $880 million with minority and women-owned suppliers globally, and continue to develop, mentor and bring on new diverse suppliers annually | |
Enable | Our Business Units have community partnerships globally targeted to helping socio-economically disadvantaged communities and promoting racial equity and economic empowerment | |
Establish multi-year | In the U.S. we are proud to be Lead National Partner for Youth of the Year, the signature character and leadership program for Boys & Girls Club, investing ~$4.5 million over three years, starting in 2021, while engaging with local Clubs year-round to help foster a new generation of leaders prepared to live in and lead a diverse global economy | |
Fund | We are proud to partner with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), to provide a combined investment of ~$4 million in financial assistance, immersion/bootcamps and professional development to outstanding students attending one of TMCF’s member- schools including 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions, over 5 years, beginning in 2021 |
*We aim to regularly and transparently report our progress. You can find additional details on Mondelēz International's ESG goals and reported information within the About This Report section of our 2023 Snacking Made Right ESG Report.
Progress in Action
In 2020, we joined other international organizations as a signatory of the Board Diversity Action Alliance, which seeks to increase the representation of racially and ethnically-diverse leaders on the boards of corporations, beginning with Black directors. The Board’s directors bring a diversity of gender, race, national origin, thought, and global experiences that promotes informed decision-making.
Our MDLZ U.S. Employee Resource Groups
Mondelez Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) provide spaces for employees to connect, grow and contribute to a community of colleagues connected through dimensions of identity.
Through celebratory events, educational programs, mentorship programs, community partnerships and more, the ERGs play a key role in the U.S. in helping to bring our values to life.
The Hispanic Promise is the first-of-its-kind national pledge to create inclusive environments within the workplace and to take positive actions to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace. Launched at the World Economic Forum in 2019, the Hispanic Promise is a non-legally binding sign of intention, result of the joint effort of multiple Hispanic Organization as a call to action for business leaders and companies of Corporate America to create a more inclusive work environment for Hispanics.
In September 2022, Mondelēz International signed the Hispanic Promise to show our ambitions to create a more inclusive environment for Hispanics.
Chips Ahoy! Follow Your Art
Started in 2022, the Chips Ahoy! Follow Your Art program is a $1 Million commitment over three years to support Arts Programs at Boys and Girls Clubs of America, resulting in 358 million impressions or opportunities to view Boys & Girls Club and Influencer art!
Juneteenth - MDLZ U.S. Day of Service
Mondelēz International designated Juneteenth as a Day of Service in 2020. Each year our colleagues come together to recognize Juneteenth as a critical day in U.S. history and have the opportunity to participate in service activities throughout the country. In 2023 we leveraged our partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund Partnership
We're proud to have partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide $4 Million in financial assistance and immersions/bootcamps and professional development to increase access to higher education for outstanding scholars attending TMCF member-schools, over 5 years, beginning in 2021. The TMCF member-schools include America’s publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs).
Hear from the scholars directly on their experience during the corporate immersion at MDLZ NA Headquarters in East Hanover, NJ.
DEI Impact Awards
The DEI Impact Awards strive to build a culture of recognition for leadership in DEI across the U.S. and give greater visibility and recognition to teams and individual colleagues that are leveraging Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a driver of growth. Colleagues nominate fellow team members across 4 award categories and the top 3 nominees and winners in each category are recognized during the Award Ceremony.
Mondelēz International believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are key to our success to drive innovative, more sustainable growth. In 2022, we commissioned a third-party racial equity audit by WilmerHale, a law firm with significant experience conducting these reviews for leading companies. We voluntarily undertook this review, with oversight from the Mondelēz International Board of Directors, to help us understand how we can continue to optimize our business objectives and be responsive to shareholder input.
In our comprehensive audit, WilmerHale interviewed over 110 internal stakeholders and reviewed hundreds of documents across both internal and external aspects of our business, including marketing, philanthropy, political contributions, supplier diversity, internal workforce efforts, and environmental considerations. The audit covered U.S. and Canadian aspects of our business, and while it focused on racial equity, it also considered issues related to gender.
"I am proud to serve as the liaison to our Board of Directors on this very important initiative. We believe this audit will be an important next step on our DE&I journey, helping us to gain a better understanding of how we can make a greater impact on both our business and the broader community."
MICHAEL TODMAN, Board of Directors Liaison for Racial Equity Audit