Milling & Baking News - April 20, 2021 - 26

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Baking seeks diverse workforce
and inclusive corporate culture

acial justice and the #MeToo
movements have been holding
companies accountable in the
past few years. Corporations across
multiple industries in the United States
have come under scrutiny, and many
have scrambled to avoid becoming the
next hashtag on Twitter for the wrong
reason. But a diverse workforce and
inclusive corporate culture have more
value than just avoiding bad headlines.
Employing people with different backgrounds and perspectives ensures the
company is more representative of the
consumer population and is tied to increased profitability over the long term.
" Food plays such a significant role
in the cultures of so many racially and
ethnically diverse consumers, " said
Camille Pierce, senior vice president
and chief culture officer, Campbell
Soup Co., Camden, NJ. " About 95%
of US households have a Campbell
product, representing a wide range of
consumers, so it is important for us to
have a workforce that reflects the diversity of our consumer base. It simply makes good business sense. "
Having a representative marketing
team is becoming increasingly important as food companies try to meet
consumer needs.
" We need to look at our workforce
and make sure it reflects who our consumers are, " said Kamillah Knight, director of diversity and inclusion, Ferrero
North America, Parsippany, NJ. " This
enables us to be as innovative as possible in creating consumer marketing
and products that truly connect with
26 / April 20, 2021

our consumers at a personal level. "
Not only should the workforce reflect the consumer population, but
Trina Bediako, chief executive officer,
New Horizons Baking Co., Norwalk,
Ohio, stressed it should reflect the customer base as well.
" If we are close-minded to diversity,
we simply limit our business growth
opportunities, " she said. " I promise
you that one day while meeting with
a customer, you will find someone
across the table who doesn't look like
you - gender, race, age or sexual orientation. If you don't acknowledge the
individual and respect the difference,
you will lose business. "
With a workforce gap pinching the
baking and snack industries, this moment can provide an opportunity for
companies to reevaluate their hiring
and retention practices.
" There's a skills gap that we have
in this industry, and that's loss of economic output, that's loss of economic
development, that's lost impact on
having a thriving economy, " said Joe
Kenner, president and CEO, Greyston
Bakery, Yonkers, NY.
In fact, McKinsey & Co.'s report
" Diversity Wins: How Inclusion
Matters, " published in 2020, found
gender and ethnic diversity in company leadership correlates to positive
business outcomes. In its analysis for
2019, companies in the top quartile for
gender diversity on executive teams
were 25% more likely to have aboveaverage profitability than companies
in the fourth quartile. For ethnic and

Milling & Baking News

cultural diversity, those companies
in the top quartile out-performed the
fourth quartile by 36%.
A workforce snapshot
In baking, one look at a production
space and it is apparent it's a diverse
place. Outside of that, it's a different
story. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) showed that of the 193,000 people employed by the wholesale baking
industry in 2020, 41.1% were women,
77.7% were white, 10.2% were Black
or African American, 5.5% were Asian
and 40.5% were Hispanic or Latino.
" Historically, the food manufacturing industry has been a white, maledominated industry, " Ms. Bediako
said. " With the introduction of the Food
Safety Modernization Act, food safety
and quality regulations, talent and
skilled professionals have presented
themselves from different educational
backgrounds, genders and races. Also
what some people forget is that a company classified as a food manufacturer
is more than just a production floor. "
The BLS shows that across all industries, 43.4% of white people in the
United States held management, professional or related occupations, while
34.4% of Black or African American
employees were employed at that
same level in 2020.
McKinsey has conducted the largest study of women in the workplace in North America, annually
tracking women's progress over the
past six years across corporate industry, including food and beverage
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Milling & Baking News - April 20, 2021

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