The Coca-Cola Company

Company Joins International Policy Dialogue On Workplace Diversity

October 13, 2006 edition

Representatives from our Company joined executives from other leading multinationals, senior UK ministers, International Labour Organization (ILO) experts and non-government organization (NGO) officials last weekend in London for a high-level workshop on combating discrimination in the workplace.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone hosted the ILO/UN Global Compact Joint Policy Dialogue on "Combating Discrimination and Promoting Equality for Decent Work." The two-day session, which drew more than 200 international delegates, was organized to promote practical steps companies can take to instill an inclusive workplace culture.

"In this age of globalization and profound demographic change, smart businesses understand that by tapping the potential of everyone around them, they can strengthen their competitive edge, expand their customer base and deepen their corporate goodwill," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, who delivered opening remarks at the event, along with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Ed Gadsden, our Company’s vice president of Global Diversity Strategy, joined a panel discussion on strategic approaches to diversity, and Afzaal Malik, director of Stakeholder Relations, participated in a session on stereotypes in the workplace.

Gadsden outlined the Company’s diversity strategy in the context of our Manifesto for Growth and our "four Cs" - commitment, communication, culture and consumption. "We are coming out of a period where many of our people programs have been focused on compliance with local laws and protecting ourselves from recent events that have befallen us," he said. "Compliance is important, but not sufficient, to build a passionate and skilled workforce capable of growing the business."

Our Company’s long-term goal, Gadsden explained, is to be the No. 1 beverage company at connecting its brands to an increasingly diverse consumer base, and to be recognized for exhibiting inclusive behavior and fairness in all aspects of the business.

"We must make diversity a market-based issue," he added. "Our focus has to move toward becoming a workforce focused beyond representation to one that’s focused on 'orientation' -- that is, developing our own cross-cultural IQ to ensure each of us can understand our markets, communities, consumers, customers and, most importantly, each other."

ILO experts led workshops on issues such as ethnic discrimination, aging populations, disability and gender inequality. Best practices culled from the event will be published in a joint Global Compact/ILO publication entitled Valuing Diversity.