Procter & Gamble’s DIVERSITY INITIATIVES FOSTER VALUE, INCLUSION, peak performance

Diversity and inclusion are not “programs” at Procter & Gamble. They are deeply held and practiced beliefs inside the company. P&G’s commitment to diversity and inclusion are inten­tional and declared business strategies, compo­nents of P&G’s corporate goals and objectives. As a principle-based company, Procter & Gamble operates from a Statement of Purpose and Core Values when the company interfaces both with its employees and its communities.
“People are our most important asset, and they must be respected as individuals,” said Max­ine Brown-Davis, P&G’s vice president of global diversity and general manager for organization performance. “Our employees and the company have mutual interdependence of goals, objectives and values. We support [diversity and inclusion] the way we would support any other business goal. We start by identifying our desired out­come, work to identify any gaps, which could keep us from reaching our goal, then implement plans to ensure success.”

A chronology of diversity

With changes in society acting as precipita­tors for Procter & Gamble’s enhanced support of diversity, the company’s commitment dates back to the early 1900s, when African Americans and women began playing an active role in P&G’s workforce. As the Civil Rights Movement and other equal opportunity efforts gained momentum in the 1950s and 1960s, P&G followed suit, recruiting African Americans to management positions and further increasing the level of workforce participation for women.

And while the 1970s saw a time where Proc­ter & Gamble was actively seeking women and minority management candidates, it was the 1980s that revolutionized the way P&G conduct­ed business, embedding diversity and inclusion into its efforts, supporting those initiatives as a corporate intention.

“As society was changing to include more demographic groups, it made sense for us to reflect those changes and incorporate them in ways that made sense to our values,” said Brown-Davis. “As a company, we went out into the com­munities where we worked and served consumers to determine how to bring in the appropriate lev­els of diversity into our company.”

Today, with the guidance of Procter & Gam-ble’s Global Leadership Council, the company seeks out opportunities to create an inclusive work­ing environment. This objective is met in part through P&G’s affinity groups that represent the major demographic groups present in the United States and around the world.

“P&G’s affinity groups help individuals onboard with us so they will have a voice and a place where they can translate their own needs and company objectives into plans for themselves and their work,” Brown-Davis said. She also looks at the affinity groups as resources for helping senior management understand the opportunities and needs to build col­laborative teams and personnel systems.

P&G earns public approval

Procter & Gamble’s strategy of maintaining a deliberate and intentionally diverse and inclusive culture has garnered recognition and respect from many of its external constituents. Fortune magazine
lists P&G as the No. 2 company for developing leadership. The company has been listed in Working Mother magazine as one of the best places for work­ing mothers. And in the last couple of years, P&G has been regarded as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 26 countries around the world. These are only a few of the company’s accolades but reflect its commitment to its diversity mission statement: “Everyone valued. Everyone included. Everyone performing at their peak.™”

And when Procter & Gamble says, “Everyone,” it means — everyone. P&G’s Chairman of the Board and CEO A.G. Lafley and senior management are actively involved in the company’s diversity and inclusion strategies and results. Brown-Davis encourages other corporations to adopt similar top-level support models when structuring diversity pro­grams.

“Ensure that senior leadership owns the out­comes of the diversity approach and that they are accountable for the outcomes. Have multiple approaches because this is a ‘head and heart’ type of change; it’s a cultural change; you cannot send out one message, once a year and expect the organiza­tion will change how it operates,” Brown-Davis explained. “You need to work at it on multiple lev­els, and you need to work it routinely.”

She continued, “Be overt in your choices and expectations and follow up so there is a consistent reinforcement with the organization that this has priority and is a fit with the work they are doing on a daily basis.”

As Procter & Gamble applies this advice to its current declared strategies, Brown-Davis intends to continue the course with expansions along the way.

“We are a continual improvement type of organi­zation; so we want to continue on the same way we are going and pick up more momentum as we grow globally,” Brown-Davis said. “We want to have an employee base that reflects the full talent pool and provides us the level of diversity and inclusion that can drive innovation for us and meet the needs of our customers and consumers around the world.”

She added, “When employees see themselves as valued, they see a way to participate in the business goals using their own talents; when they feel respect from managers with whom they work, they have a pride in the company that truly makes a difference.”