Embracing and empowering a diverse workforce has been a part of the McDonald’s culture for decades. In the mid 1970s, then McDonald’s CEO, Fred Turner, developed an initial diversity framework, and in 1980, the company hired our first official head of diversity. Back then, it was just the right thing to do. Today, it is a business imperative. In the words of our Global Chief Diversity Officer and V.P. of Inclusion & Diversity, Patricia Harris, in her recently published book, None of Us Is as Good as All of As - How McDonald's Prospers By Embracing Inclusion and Diversity,
"Any company that hopes to serve a diverse customer base across the United States, and around the world, must reflect that same diversity in the restaurants, where we meet our customers face to face, and throughout our organization, where we design our products and services with the distinct wants and needs of our customers in mind. And our business results reflect the validity of mirroring our customers throughout our System very clearly."
While the definition of “inclusion” remains relatively constant across geographic boundaries, the word “diversity” denotes a very different meaning from place to place. Globally within McDonald’s, gender diversity has been identified as a priority. Patricia Harris is currently working with leaders in all areas of the world to develop a comprehensive framework for this aspect of diversity at McDonald’s and metrics to monitor our progress.
Back to School – Teaching Diversity & Inclusion
Another critical component to diversity and inclusion at McDonald’s is teaching people how to work with others different than themselves. The core of our education framework includes formal presentations, workshops, seminars and informal training designed to practice the skills and behaviors needed to cultivate effective work and lead people in an inclusive, diverse workforce. Some of our seminars and workshops include:
Winning with Inclusion and Diversity
GenderSpeak – Working Together Successfully
Asian Career Development
Hispanic Career Development
Diversity & Inclusion from a White Male Perspective
Women’s Career Development
McDonald’s also has a number of Employee Networks, originating out of our U.S. based headquarters, including:
