The Hershey Company Named No. Six on DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity List

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May 06, 2022, 07:50 ET

Recognized for its actions to foster diversity, equity and inclusion, the iconic company is creating change in its workplace and communities

HERSHEY, Pa., May 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) announced today it has been named sixth on DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, reflecting an advancement over the past several years from no. 33 in 2018. This recognition reinforces the company's progress against its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments. Hershey's DEI efforts can be seen through The Pathways Project, the company's five-year DEI engagement plan, as well as its global #HerforShe campaign, in which the company used its platform to elevate and support women and girls worldwide.

The Hershey Company was named no. six on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list and was included on a number of DiversityInc's specialty lists

"Being recognized on DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity list amongst such prestigious peers reaffirms that our commitments to DEI go beyond words and promises, and our actions create measurable change," said Alicia Petross, Chief Diversity Officer, The Hershey Company. "That change is felt in our workplace and communities, and we're not stopping here."

Hershey employees strive to proactively foster an inclusive environment where all employees around the world can bring their whole selves to work each day. Highlights of Hershey's DEI strategy include:

Representation and Leadership: Hershey is committed to including diverse perspectives across the organization, with a goal of increasing representation of its employee base to be 30 to 40 percent people of color (POC), and 15 to 22 percent of people leader roles occupied by POC by 2025.
Recruitment Diversity: Hershey makes it a priority to assemble candidate slates that are 50 percent diverse for every externally sourced role. To that end, it has expanded its relationship with diverse-owned talent search firms to 30 percent of all volume to help ensure this goal is achieved. In 2021, more than 40 percent of all talent acquisition search volume was led by diverse-owned firms.
Supplier Diversity: By 2030, Hershey will increase spend with diverse suppliers to $400 million, helping to promote economic equality and opportunity for diverse-owned businesses. This is a 4x increase versus its baseline year of 2020.
Pay Equity: By 2025, Hershey aims to achieve pay equity for similar job categories across its global salaried workforce. In 2019, Hershey achieved 1:1 aggregate gender pay equity, and in 2021, 1:1 aggregate POC pay equity for salaried employees in the U.S.

Hershey was also named to numerous DiversityInc's Top Companies specialty lists, including:

Top Companies for Asian American Executives
Top Companies for Black Executives
Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups
Top Companies for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
Top Companies for Executive Diversity Councils
Top Companies for Latino Executives
Top Companies for People with Disabilities (PWD)
Top Companies for Sponsorship
Top Companies for Talent Acquisition for Women of Color
Top Companies for Veterans

Launched in 2001, the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list is empirically driven and based on 2021 company-submitted data in six key areas: Leadership Accountability, Human Capital Diversity Metrics, Talent Programs, Workforce Practices, Supplier Diversity and Philanthropy.

To view the entire Top 50 list and specialty lists, visit www.diversityinc.com.

About The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has approximately 19,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 100 brand names in approximately 80 countries around the world that drive more than $8.9 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat®, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers, and fast-growing salty snacks including SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty and Dot's Pretzels.

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed.

About DiversityInc: The mission of DiversityInc is to bring education and clarity to the business benefits of diversity. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, when many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. DiversityInc is a VA certified veteran-owned business and a USBLN certified business owned by a person with a disability. For more information, visit www.diversityinc.com and follow DiversityInc on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @DiversityInc.

SOURCE The Hershey Company