The Everyday Diversity series aims to highlight the diversity in the world around us, specifically in the leadership of the companies we support. In this article, we’re looking at top three companies that bottle and market carbonated soda products.
For comparative reasons, please keep in mind that the United States population is 40% people of color and 60% white; and 51% women and 49% men.
Crackle, pop – the refreshing sound of opening a fresh can of soda.
Soda drinkers who prefer the iconic Coca-Cola drinks to any other brand should know that the brand’s leadership team has approximately 10% more POC representation when compared to the United States’ population – significantly higher than their industry rival PepsiCo.
The Coca-Cola Company, a massive food and beverage conglomerate, has approximately 39% female representation on their leadership team, in comparison to 61% male representation. However, they only have eight individuals on their leadership team altogether, meaning three are women and five are men.
PepsiCo is yet another beverage-making company that has become a household name worldwide. The massive company not only sells caffeinated colas, but also other beverages including Lipton teas.
PepsiCo has the overall lowest POC and female representation in its decision-making team in comparison to Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper. Only 15% of PepsiCo’s leadership are people of color and about 25% are women – the latter being a slight improvement from Keurig Dr Pepper.
Some coffee drinkers are fans of using Keurig brewing systems, which are marketed and sold by beverage conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper. The Dr Pepper side of the merger sells carbonated products such as 7-Up, Sunkist and of course, Dr. Pepper.
The merged company has 50% people of color in leadership positions, which is 10% more POC representation in comparison to the United States population. However, Keurig Dr Pepper falls severely short of representation when it comes to gender, with only 18% of decision-makers being women.
Sourced from balance, these statistics show us that roughly 50-85% of leadership in top soda brands are white and 61-77% are men.
