Unlocking Talent: Yum Brands' Gender Parity and Family-Centric Workplace Initiatives
The World Economic Forum predicts that achieving complete gender parity will take 131 years, but Yum! Brands has set its sights on accomplishing this goal within the next few years. The parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill made a firm commitment in 2018 by signing the Paradigm for Parity pledge, aiming to achieve gender parity in global senior leadership by 2030.
Over the past five years, it has made significant strides, increasing from 33% in 2018 to 43% in 2022. Moreover, the company has consistently received recognition for its efforts, ranking highly on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and Newsweek’s list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women. With only 7% left to go, Yum! Brands is confident it will continue to make positive progress.
Tracy Skeans, Yum! Chief Operating Officer & Chief People Officer, stated, “We know that men and women enter the workforce at an almost equal rate, but the higher a woman climbs, the less women she’ll see around her. And we’re changing that.”
Here’s how the world’s largest restaurant company is working towards achieving parity:
Ensuring that women are considered for all positions by hiring and promoting based on merit.
Megan Verret, Yum! Brands vice president for Global Talent, emphasized, “At Yum!, we want the best talent for the job,” and highlighted the importance of making the organization attractive to all applicants.
Yum! Brands has adopted strategies informed by research, such as focusing on essential requirements rather than a lengthy list of qualifications in job descriptions. They also use the AI service Ongig to suggest more inclusive language in job postings. Additionally, many job postings now include salary ranges to attract more female applicants, a move that also aligns with legal requirements in certain U.S. states.
Yum! aims to establish itself as an employer of choice by implementing these strategies to attract a diverse pool of job seekers.
The company focuses on supporting women already employed in various positions. Once hired, Yum! and its brands prioritize retaining top talent.
Megan Verret emphasized, “We retain employees by demonstrating an inclusive culture that supports them throughout their professional and personal journeys.”
To foster this culture, Yum! and its brands establish women-centered business employee resource groups (BERGs), inclusive of all genders. These groups facilitate workplace advancement by fostering community, sharing cross-functional knowledge, and identifying and addressing barriers to growth. Initiatives include networking dinners between vice presidents and middle management, as well as talks with local entrepreneurs to inspire and share experiences.
“Our retention rate is impressive,” Verret stated. “Nearly 90% of our female employees rate Yum! as an excellent workplace in our annual Employee Engagement Survey.”
Verret attributes this high retention rate to the aforementioned programs and internal analysis confirming gender pay parity annually in the U.S. Additionally, she highlights the company’s family-centric benefits, such as subsidized onsite daycare, six weeks of baby bonding time for all parents, 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, a flexible remote work policy, and the parents BERG NEST (Nurture, Educate, Survive, and Thrive), which advocates for working parents.
Verret noted, “Many of our senior leaders are parents themselves, so it’s not unusual for a toddler to make an appearance during a Teams meeting, and we fully embrace that.”
Over the past five years, it has made significant strides, increasing from 33% in 2018 to 43% in 2022. Moreover, the company has consistently received recognition for its efforts, ranking highly on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and Newsweek’s list of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women. With only 7% left to go, Yum! Brands is confident it will continue to make positive progress.
Tracy Skeans, Yum! Chief Operating Officer & Chief People Officer, stated, “We know that men and women enter the workforce at an almost equal rate, but the higher a woman climbs, the less women she’ll see around her. And we’re changing that.”
Here’s how the world’s largest restaurant company is working towards achieving parity:
Ensuring that women are considered for all positions by hiring and promoting based on merit.
Megan Verret, Yum! Brands vice president for Global Talent, emphasized, “At Yum!, we want the best talent for the job,” and highlighted the importance of making the organization attractive to all applicants.
Yum! Brands has adopted strategies informed by research, such as focusing on essential requirements rather than a lengthy list of qualifications in job descriptions. They also use the AI service Ongig to suggest more inclusive language in job postings. Additionally, many job postings now include salary ranges to attract more female applicants, a move that also aligns with legal requirements in certain U.S. states.
Yum! aims to establish itself as an employer of choice by implementing these strategies to attract a diverse pool of job seekers.
The company focuses on supporting women already employed in various positions. Once hired, Yum! and its brands prioritize retaining top talent.
Megan Verret emphasized, “We retain employees by demonstrating an inclusive culture that supports them throughout their professional and personal journeys.”
To foster this culture, Yum! and its brands establish women-centered business employee resource groups (BERGs), inclusive of all genders. These groups facilitate workplace advancement by fostering community, sharing cross-functional knowledge, and identifying and addressing barriers to growth. Initiatives include networking dinners between vice presidents and middle management, as well as talks with local entrepreneurs to inspire and share experiences.
“Our retention rate is impressive,” Verret stated. “Nearly 90% of our female employees rate Yum! as an excellent workplace in our annual Employee Engagement Survey.”
Verret attributes this high retention rate to the aforementioned programs and internal analysis confirming gender pay parity annually in the U.S. Additionally, she highlights the company’s family-centric benefits, such as subsidized onsite daycare, six weeks of baby bonding time for all parents, 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, a flexible remote work policy, and the parents BERG NEST (Nurture, Educate, Survive, and Thrive), which advocates for working parents.
Verret noted, “Many of our senior leaders are parents themselves, so it’s not unusual for a toddler to make an appearance during a Teams meeting, and we fully embrace that.”
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