She is PepsiCo Celebrates the Best of Women in Supply Chain
PepsiCo is an organisation dedicated to recognising the work of women in frontline positions across its global operations.
The She is PepsiCo initiative is a prime example of this, celebrating the talented women in its procurement, supply chain and manufacturing teams.
It's an initiative that heralds and showcases the transformative abilities of those working in frontline roles in markets around the world, while helping to encourage even more to apply.
The annual programme rebrands some of the company's highly-visible delivery trucks with the names and faces of She is PepsiCo honourees, featuring photos of these employees in their natural workplace settings in place of the customary logos.
Women fill 31% of frontline roles – Gartner
Research from Gartner carried out in 2023 showed women made up 41% of the total supply chain workforce, up from 39% in 2022.
However, look specifically at the frontline of supply chain, the same survey discovered women filled just 31% of these roles.
What's more, women account for about half of the US labour force, but represent less than a third of the manufacturing workforce.
A goal of the She is PepsiCo campaign is for the company's workforce to mirror the communities in which it operates, something which is reflected in PepsiCo's Supply Chain senior leadership.
Karen Jordan is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), while Laura Maxwell is the Chief Supply Chain Officer for PepsiCo Foods North America (PFNA).
Jordan began her career at PepsiCo as an Integrated Planning Manager in New York in 2002, while Maxwell kicked off her career at PepsiCo as a Plant Project Engineer in Iowa in 1989. Jordan and Maxwell collectively lead almost 100,000 frontline employees spanning operations, transportation and manufacturing for PepsiCo's US$55bn North American business units.
Women growing careers in PepsiCo supply chains
The She is PepsiCo campaign demonstrates how women can build and grow a meaningful frontline career at PepsiCo supported by the tools and culture to nurture their continued development.
"Getting more women to apply for frontline roles isn't just beneficial for the employees, their families and the communities where we operate – it's also important to our business," explains Becky Schmitt, Chief People Officer at PepsiCo.
"PepsiCo wants women to clearly see the career opportunities available to them and hear from the women who are thriving in frontline careers, and beyond. We hope people who see these trucks in markets around the world will be inspired to apply for a role at PepsiCo."
There are more than two dozen women across the US and Canada who are named as 2024 She is PepsiCo honourees.
Those recognised work as truck drivers, mechanics, merchandisers and warehouse loaders, among other frontline roles, and make the work of procurement and supply teams possible.
Each woman is being honoured at local truck-unveiling events, where they will see their name and photo on a PepsiCo truck that will roll through their community.
"This is the third year we're honouring PBNA's exemplary frontline women through She is PepsiCo," adds Andrea Ferrara, CHRO at PBNA. "I'm always moved by the individual career journeys of the honourees and the important role they each play in our business — making, moving and selling our products.
"Our business truly relies on excellence in these frontline roles. I'm proud that PBNA creates these unique moments of recognition to help drive belonging for all our employees, making a large company feel small."
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in no fewer than 200 countries and territories around the world.
PepsiCo generated more than US$91bn in net revenue in 2023, driven by a beverage and convenience foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker and SodaStream.
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