Are Drinks Giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Committed to DEI?

Fifty years ago, PepsiCo launched the Pepsi Challenge – a blind taste test for consumers to tell the difference between Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Today, if consumers are trying to differentiate between the two beverage giants, they could focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

In the wake of US President Donald Trump’s campaign to remove DEI from boardrooms and businesses, PepsiCo ended some of its DEI initiatives.

At the same time, its rival Coca-Cola talked up its commitment to DEI, saying it is “at the heart of our values and our growth strategy”.

PepsiCo: new roles and goals 

PepsiCo is the owner of Gatorade, Lay’s potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi. 

In Purchase, New York, where its world headquarters is based, the company’s chief diversity officer is set to transition to a broader role focused on employee engagement, leadership development and ensuring an inclusive culture.

In a memo sent to employees, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base. 

Ramon wrote that, despite this rollback, inclusion remains important to PepsiCo.

Since President Trump’s return to the White House, many US government agencies, companies and schools reevaluated policies and programmes.

Measures to reduce discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people have been incentivised to be scrapped.

President Trump has ended DEI programmes within the federal government and has warned schools to end these DEI programmes, or risk losing federal money.

Is Coca Cola still doing DEI?

Coca-Cola was not so quick to obey the president’s executive order. 

Chief Financial Officer John Murphy says the company is “focused on having the best talent around the world”.

In its annual report, Atlanta-based Coke warned that its business could be negatively affected if it is unable to attract employees who reflect its broad range of customers.

“Our diverse, high-performing global employee base helps drive a culture of inclusion, innovation and growth.” Coca-Cola says. 

“If we are unable to attract or retain specialised talent or top talent with diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that reflect the broad range of consumers and markets we serve around the world, our business could be negatively affected.”

The company has also added goals including having women hold 50% of senior leadership roles by 2030. 

Coca-Cola has said that it wants race and ethnicity representation that reflects national census data at all levels of the company in the U.S. 

“Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion … could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success,” the company comments.

DEI depletions in the US

PepsiCo joins a long list of companies that have retreated on DEI programmes in the wake of Trump’s election victory. 

PepsiCo’s move follows the likes of McDonald's US, Walmart, John Deere and Harley-Davidson.

Apple, Google, Target, Amazon, Accenture and Costco have also removed and reassessed DEI measures. 

Meta made a similar announcement, saying it would end DEI initiatives centred around hiring and suppliers.

In line with the rollbacks, advocates of DEI in the workplace argue that diverse hiring and greater representation of women and minorities improves business performance.