“We are leading with equity, which means we work to remove barriers to ensure our practices in the workplace, marketplace and communities are fair and consistent,” Priscilla Koranteng, VP and global talent chief diversity officer, said on the company’s website.
As part of Kellogg’s Better Days Promise strategy, the company reported 45.7% of all manager roles and above were filled by women, a 1.3% increase from 2021, and 22.7% of all manager roles and above were filled by underrepresented talent, a 0.5% increase from the previous year. Among Kellogg’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives in 2021, the company allocated over $462 million towards supplier diversity efforts and developed an accelerated program for racially underrepresented talent at the management level, among others.
“One of the ways we are achieving our Kellogg’s Better Days Promise is by ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion in our own workforce. We are happy about our progress in 2022 and, while we know there’s still work to be done, we’re confident that we will achieve our goal of more balanced representation in our leadership,” said Samantha Thomas-Berry, chief diversity officer in a recent press release.
A mainstay on the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, this marks Kellogg's 10th year on the list with Steve Cahillane, CEO, and Priscilla Koranteng, CDO, at the helm. Samantha Thomas-Berry is the company's current CDO.
DEI as an integral metric for company innovation and revenue growth
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) continue to shape and progress business strategy in an amorphous marketplace. Organizations with a DEI leader are more likely to see progress in diversity at the management level. According to Harvard Business Review, 58% of companies have a committed DEI budget, yet only 21% of companies have a senior role dedicated to DEI.
Companies with more diverse management teams show a 19% growth in revenue indicating DEI serves as an integral progress metric and plays a critical role in revenue generation. An investment in diverse leadership allows for companies to quickly adapt to shifting consumer and market demands.
DEI training programs from Coursera, Cornell University and the American Management Association, among many others, can help companies establish a more inclusive environment for employees. Training covers a broad range of topics from cultural competency and anti-discrimination law to microaggressions or unconscious biases.
