Pepsi Bottling discusses the Business Case for Diversity

Pepsi Bottling has created one of the most diverse boards, in terms of gender and ethnicity, of any company in the Fortune 500 with four women, one of them Hispanic; one African-American man; and one Mexican man among its 10 members. Eric J. Foss, chairman and chief executive of the Pepsi Bottling Group, sat down with the New York Times to argue that building diversity in a tough economy is even more important. In the interview, Foss stated, “If you look at the current business environment, there’s no doubt there’s a huge amount of volatility and unpredictability…we need to stay focused on and committed to culture and talent development. We need to stay focused on improving our diversity. It’s one of our top three priorities, even in the current business environment.” He continued, “Part of the strategic rationale for this is that our employee base needs to be reflective of our customer base. As our customers continue to become more diverse, it’s important that organizationally we look like them.” To see the full interview, visit here.
The business case for diversity is argued by almost every major international corporation. An excellent source of research and findings stating the economic impact, strategic importance and added value of Diversity is European Diversity’s International Business Case Report (IBCR). More information on this report can be found here.