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PepsiCo to invest $170 million to empower Hispanics, promote diversity

PepsiCo (PEP) is the latest company to initiate a commitment to the Hispanic community, in a wave of major firms aiming to promote and elevate minorities.

The commitment includes more than $170 million over five years in initiatives aimed at Hispanic communities, as well as increasing their representation across all ranks at the snack and beverage company. It follows an earlier announced $400+ million program addressing Black inequality.

PepsiCo also shared its Workforce Demographics on PepsiCo.com, with the intention to update progress against the company’s goals.

In a letter this week, chairman & CEO Ramon Laguarta wrote, “We are focused on increasing our U.S. Hispanic middle management representation with targeted recruitment, retention and development, along with educational support and increasing cultural competency through specialized trainings.”

Workers unload a truck of Pepsi products in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, October 8, 2009. PepsiCo Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, hurt by falling North American soft drink sales, and cautioned it did not expect a major revival of consumer spending next year.  REUTERS/Chip East (UNITED STATES BUSINESS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX) recently announced new diversity targets, while linking executive compensation to hitting those goals.

The company plans to launch a mentorship program to connect its Black, Indigenous and People of Color employees (BIPOC) to senior leaders within the company.

"While this reads mentorship, it's going to feel like sponsorship, because we're going to have to partner with our senior [vice presidents], who are the leaders of these individuals in the company, and have almost a three-way conversation," Starbucks COO Roz Brewer told Yahoo Finance’s Julia La Roche in a video call.

Recent efforts to empower minorities follow past commitments from dozens of companies including IBM (IBM), Yum Brands (YUM), and Microsoft (MSFT) with the We Are All Human’s Hispanic Promise. The initiative, launched at the World Economic Forum in 2019, is pledge to hire, promote, retain and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace.

Ines covers the U.S. stock market. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

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