JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The effect of the pandemic and the focus on racial disparities has led to a spotlight on several industries. The food and beverage industry had a strong presence on Forbes list of America’s Best Employers For Diversity, showing an impressive stance on building initiatives towards diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The impact of Covid-19 on the lives and livelihoods of Black families has raised questions about healthcare equity,” said Jared Council, senior editor at Forbes. “The economic fallout for Black workers and Black-owned businesses has once again illustrated the need for financial inclusion and access to capital. Meanwhile, remote learning has turned attention to the disparities in resources and academic outcomes for students in underserved communities.”
Tangible action plans aimed at providing support and representation to diverse employees were among the objectives of the best-performing companies, according to Forbes.
Forbes, based in Jersey City, N.J., and Statista, based in Hamburg, Germany, came together to survey 60,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees to find out which companies were best rated for age, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation equality.
In the food and beverage industry, seven convenience store suppliers and two c-store distributors were featured. Below are their rankings.
| Rank | Company | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 31. | General Mills | 35,000 |
| 42. | Mars | 130,000 |
| 70. | The Hershey Co. | 16,880 |
| 318. | Coca-Cola | 80,300 |
| 334. | Kellogg | 31,000 |
| 347. | Campbell Soup | 14,100 |
| 372. | PepsiCo | 291,000 |
| Rank | Company | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 211. | U.S. Foods | 28,000 |
| 486. | Sysco | 57,000 |
Click here for the full list.
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