General Mills Inc.
Minneapolis, MN
35,000 employees
CEO: Ken Powell
CDE: Kenneth Charles
www.generalmills.com
Diversity mission: At General Mills, diversity is both a value and a business strategy.
With minorities consisting of just below 20% of its workforce, and approximately 16% of their management level positions held by people of color, General Mills should be recognized for the push towards diversity within its organization. It successfully developed minority employees through professional training and development, mentorship programs and employee networks, and more than 40% of the company’s management workforce is made up of women. More impressive, however, are its efforts to promote diversity at the community level. The Feeding the Dreams campaign, the brainchild of their Black Champions employee network, awards grants in the names of every day heroes who make their neighborhoods happier and healthier. Its partnership with Que Rica Vida magazine helped make General Mills the leading food advertiser to Latino-Latina communities. General Mills cultivates an inclusive environment by considering all dimensions of diversity — not just the primary areas such as gender, race and sexual orientation, but also cultural aspects including values, preferences, beliefs, and communication styles.
