Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) one of the world’s leading protein producers, announced today that it has joined the McDonald’s Mutual Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (MCDEI). Tyson’s employee base is enormously diverse, with more than 50 languages spoken by team members across the company’s U.S. business. Today’s announcement follows the company’s longstanding and publicly stated commitment to diversity, also a part of its core values.
As an early adopter of the MCDEI, Tyson Foods will continue to advance diversity, equity and inclusion by committing to actions like setting representation goals, conducting education and training, increasing diverse supplier spend and developing innovative programs and partnerships to increase diversity and inclusion across its business.
“At Tyson, our team members reflect every part of America today – diversity isn’t a concept at our company, it’s something we witness every day at every single one of our facilities. So, we are proud to have our commitment be reflected in McDonald’s Mutual Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” said John R. Tyson, chief sustainability officer at Tyson Foods.
McDonald’s will begin the comprehensive effort with U.S.-based suppliers, before expanding globally, with the goal of full implementation across McDonald’s value chain by 2025. Additionally, McDonald’s USA is committing to increase purchases from diverse-owned suppliers1 by nearly 10% by 2025 representing approximately a quarter of its U.S. spend.
“We are pleased that Tyson Foods has decided to join us on the next phase of our journey by joining the MCDEI,” said SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer Marion Gross. “McDonald’s and Tyson Foods have a long history together, and we look forward to maximizing our collective efforts to contribute to a more equitable future.”
In support of the pledge and its suppliers’ efforts, McDonald’s is also providing resources and best-practice sharing. To date, more than 20 companies, including Tyson Foods have joined the MCDEI.
Members of Tyson Foods’ leadership have been through unconscious bias training provided by an outside management consulting group and the training is being expanded to other parts of the company.
Executive leadership at Tyson has also recommitted its support and sponsorship of the company’s Business Resources Groups (BRG), which has doubled in membership and resulted in the addition of Latinx, Asian and Allies and African Ancestry Alliance BRGs. The other BRGs include DisAbility and Accessibility Awareness, Pride Network, Veterans and Friends, Women and Leaders of Tomorrow.
Tyson Foods has a diverse Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team. The company recently created a new position of Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, which will include a team to help manage and promote the company’s diversity support efforts. The VP & Chief Diversity Officer will report the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer and focused on managing the people elements of the company’s sustainability efforts.
In the past year Tyson Foods pledged to donate $5 million over three years to organizations such as the Equal Justice Initiative, The Executive Leadership Council and the National Urban League. The company has donated more than $3 million thus far, funding that has gone to the important work of providing economic empowerment, improving educational opportunities and protecting civil rights for the underserved in America. The company also awarded a series of grants to organizations that are working to address the civil and human rights of Asian Americans, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago and the National Association of Asian American Professionals.
Tyson Foods publicly discloses the ethnicity of its U.S. workforce in its annual sustainability report. The company has also started sharing similar human capital information in the annual report (Form 10-K) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
1 McDonald’s USA defines diverse-owned business as those owned by women and/or Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, Veteran, LGBTQ+, and disabled persons.
