Barilla employees expressed a desire to be more connected to each other and to engage in opportunities to participate in our global journey to increase diversity and inclusion in the company.
Barilla appointed its first Chief Diversity Officer, reporting to the CEO, and created a Global Diversity & Inclusion Board, comprised of employees and external experts from all backgrounds around the world, who advise on opportunities to increase diversity and inclusion. The Board developed and launched a comprehensive internal survey for over 4,000 employees in 8 languages, led an independent audit of internal policies, and delivered specialized diversity and irclusion training for every employee.
Barilla employees started several Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including VOCE (LGBT), Alleanza (Latino and African-American), Balance (gender), and Respeito (respecting all differences; Brazil), which encourage employees to bring their authentic selves to work.
Barilla has established relationships with various non-profits including GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, Parks Liberi e Uguali, Catalyst, Valore D and the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement. These partnerships not only highlight Barilla's commitment to community involvement, but also provide opportunities for employees to engage directly with the organizations.
Every Barilla employee has received training in diversity & inclusion and unconscious bias. Barilla's ERGs are evolving from internal affinity groups to business resource groups, where participating employees are asked to provide guidance on special projects. One example is VOCE's involvement in developing our new LGBT· inclusion Marketing campaigns in the US.
The commitment from Barilla's global leaders to promoting diversity and inclusion has increased since the start of the D&I journey. In the latest 2017 D&I survey, 72% of employees globally stated that senior leaders at Barilla encourage diversity and inclusion and their actions reflect a real commitment. By 2020, Barilla's objective is to have 85% of all managers champion diversity and inclusion.
Kristen Anderson
Our Barilla Employee Resource Groups are a key component of our diversity and inclusion strategy. As a leader, I am proud of our employees who are engaged in driving positive change in our organization and appreciative for everything I learn in my interactions with them.