Diageo’s growth plan: more women and people of colour in leadership

United Kingdom | Championing diversity and inclusion is good for business. In November 2020 the world’s number one drinks company Diageo published its most recent ten-year sustainability action plan.

By 2030 it aims to have 45 percent of its leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds and 50 percent of its leaders as women.

Thanks to previous commitments, the proportion of women on Diageo’s board is already 50 percent. On the Executive Committee, it stands at 38 percent, while 39 percent of all management positions in the group worldwide are filled by women.

For comparison, about 80 percent of executives in the beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry are male, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a US federal agency. Part of the reason for this disconnect is that traditional networks within the industry have largely not tapped into segments of the population that have not historically been industry insiders.

Diageo’s new sustainability action plan has set itself several targets. Amongst others, the drinks company hopes to reach one billion people with messages of moderation through its brands; it seeks to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions across direct operations and use 30 percent less water in every drink it makes.