COMPANIES FOR
DIVERSITY
THE COCA-COLA CO.
E. Neville Isdell,
Chairman and CEO
Steve Bucherati,
Director, Diversity and
Workplace Fairness
No. 4
WHY IT’S ON THE TOP 50:
Coca-Cola is the ultimate diversity
success story. Rebounding from
the largest racial-discrimination
lawsuit in U.S. history, the company, aided by its court-ordered task
force, reinvented its corporate culture to become a national diversity
leader. The commitment, especially from its top leadership, was so
strong that Isdell voluntarily kept
the task force for an extra year.
DESCRIPTION: Coca-Cola is the
world’s No. 1 soft-drink maker,
with four of the top five brands.
The company sells products in
more than 200 nations.
DIVERSITY STRENGTHS: With unbiased retention in both the work
force and management, meaning
retention is level across race, ethnicity and gender, Coca-Cola
clearly is a Human Capital leader.
Fifty-two percent of female new
hires are women of color, compared with 44 percent for the Top
50. Thirty-two percent of managers are people of color, compared with 24 percent for the Top
50. The company ties 20 percent
of management bonuses to diversity success and makes diversity
training mandatory for the entire
work force, which only 58 percent
of Top 50 companies do.
Specialty Lists: No. 5 on the Top 10
Companies for Recruitment & Retention
and No. 6 on the Top 10 Companies for
Asian Americans lists
Industry: Consumer Products
Main Competitors: PepsiCo, Cadbury
Schweppes
U.S. Headquarters: Atlanta, Ga.
Number of U.S. Employees:
12,000
Annual Revenue: $24.1 billion
of Operations Outside U.S.:
73
Key Personnel: E. Neville Isdell, chairman and
CEO; Steve Bucherati, director, diversity
and workplace fairness
DNA. Our commitment is certain
and sustainable. But there always
will be much more we can achieve,
and that is how we must operate. I
firmly believe that our most important day is always tomorrow. Our
work is really just beginning.”
FROM STEVE BUCHERATI, DIRECTOR,
DIVERSITY AND WORKPLACE
FAIRNESS: “Our diversity and fairness strategy and initiatives are
all based on building sustainable
growth for the business and a
great place for all our employees
to work, and this external recognition helps to validate that we’re on
the right track.”
RECENT DIVERSITY SUCCESS: In collaboration with Clark Atlanta
University, Coca-Cola recently
established a MWBE supplier-men-toring program.
FROM CHAIRMAN AND CEO E.
NEVILLE ISDELL: “Simply put, diversity is, and must be, part of our
