Is PepsiCo Quietly Scaling Back Its DEI Goals?

Last week, NPR reported on several companies that have removed some DEI language from annual reports. PepsiCo, #44 in the Fortune 100, was briefly mentioned.

We maintain the Fortune 100 DEI Database, so I wanted to investigate.

Here’s what we found out about PepsiCo’s DEI language over the past few years.

PepsiCo Stopped Producing DE&I Reports In 2022

PepsiCo released DE&I reports in 2020, 2021, and 2022, then stopped. 

Its most recent report was released on September 15, 2022. It chose not to release a report in the fall of 2023 or 2024.

PepsiCo Hired A New Global Chief In 2024

In January of 2024, Monica Bauer Mengelberg took over as Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, according to her LinkedIn page.

“Prior to her current role, Monica was Vice President of Global Corporate Reputation.”

PepsiCo Removes Mentions Of Diversity From Its 2024 Annual Report

In its 2023 Annual 10-K, PepsiCo said the following:

We believe that our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is a competitive advantage that fuels innovation, enhances our ability to attract and retain talent and strengthens our reputation. We continually strive to improve the attraction, retention, and advancement of diverse associates to ensure we sustain a high-caliber pipeline of talent that also represents the communities we serve. As of December 30, 2023, our global workforce was approximately 27% female, while management roles were approximately 45% female. As of December 30, 2023, approximately 49% of our U.S. workforce was comprised of racially/ethnically diverse individuals, of which approximately 34% of our U.S. associates in managerial roles were racially/ethnically diverse individuals. The Board has overseen appointments of current direct reports of our Chief Executive Officer, who include 7 executives globally who are racially/ethnically diverse and/or female.

It mentioned “diversity” eight times in the report.

In its 2024 Annual 10-K released on February 2, 2025, PepsiCo said the following about “diversity”:

“The Sustainability, Diversity and Public Policy Committee of the Board assists the Board in its oversight of PepsiCo’s policies, programs and related risks that concern key sustainability (including climate change), diversity, and public policy matters.”

• This sentence has the only two mentions of the word “diversity” in the report.
• All mentions of workforce percentages by race and gender have been removed

Summary

PepsiCo still has very public information about its DEI programs. It still has a full team in place. 

However, recent actions could indicate that the company has chosen to lessen the role that DEI plays within the company. 

We’ll update the story if something changes.

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