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PepsiCo's CEO, Indra Nooyi, is creating a culture of gender equality through several initiatives that support women throughout the world, both among PepsiCo employees and in the broader community.
E.&J. Gallo Winery has created a Women in Wine employee resource group, as well as supporting initiatives to hire and promote more female leadership.
Although criticized for their own lack of diversity among leadership, General Mills is promoting several gender equality initiatives, as well as publishing an annual report about their process toward gender equality goals.
 

OVERVIEW

PepsiCo, E.&J. Gallo Winery, and General Mills are three examples of companies with strong initiatives for women in the workplace. Not only are these companies listed on industry sites as top places for women to work, but they have also received awards and other accolades regarding their commitment to gender equality.

In my research, one important aspect I noted was that PepsiCo, E.&J. Gallo Winery, and General Mills are all companies that have several initiatives to support female employees, not a single initiative. This may be why these companies are considered some of the best places for women to work.

Because I was able to find three strong examples within the food and beverage sector, I did not expand my research to other consumer packaged goods sectors of the industry.

WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE INITIATIVES AT PEPSICO
PepsiCo has been named Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) Employer of Choice four years in a row, and they are an endorser of the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles. When compared to other food and beverage CPG companies, PepsiCo by far has the most media coverage for their gender equality initiatives, perhaps due to their CEO's strong commitment to diversity. Indra Nooyi, the female CEO and chairman of PepsiCo, is the driving force behind these global programs to support women.
                       
Some of their women in the workplace initiatives include the following:

1. One Simple Thing is PepsiCo's initiative to support communication between managers and their teams about the need for flexible schedules. This provides a better work-life balance for all employees and allows for needs such as taking your child to the doctor.

2. Leaders Leaving Loudly is PepsiCo's initiative in Australia/New Zealand to promote flexible working among its leadership team. The hope with this initiative is that it will create a company culture where all employees understand that working a flexible schedule is encouraged. However, this policy has been questioned by critics, who note that it is more beneficial for men who might feel like flexible work hours are not meant for them.

3. In India, PepsiCo has an initive to support more women in leadership positions. Their goal is to have women in at least 40% of their top 50 manager positions in this country. They also started an initiative called Nayee Disha (previously called Impact 10K) with a goal of reaching women in rural and semi-rural communities, so they know about job opportunities available.

4. In Saudi Arabia, PepsiCo's women in the workplace initiative has four goals, as follows: " improving work/life balance, nurturing a culture of understanding by setting the right tone, creating opportunities for women and communication." PepsiCo recently co-authored a report called "Women’s Careers in the GCC — Four Good Practice Case Studies," which aims to help Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries boost women in the workplace to 30%. In this country, PepsiCo has also set up workplaces that allow women to come to work, by having all-female work environments or work environments with walls separating males and females, according to GCC religious laws.

5. The Global Women's Group is an initiative that allows female Pepsi employees from around the world to connect with one another to share their diverse experiences and skills.

Although perhaps not technically an initiative, PepsiCo's Global Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policy is extremely strict to ensure proper code of conduct, not just among employees, but throughout the entire business, including vendors, workplace visitors, and even customers. This protection is for all protected classes, including women.

The company has also invested $100 million to support 12.5 million women and girls throughout the world, not just PepsiCo employees. The company is committed to a holistic approach of supporting women in their communities through safety and education, which they believe has a ripple effect.

Although outside of your 2-year range, I wanted to also mention that in 2011, Pepsi launched The Pinnacle Group, which provides training and support to top female sales associates within the company. Globally, around 27% of senior executives at PepsiCo are women.

These initiatives are all highly publicized and praised in the media, often in conjunction with interviews with Nooyi and profiles of other senior staff taking part in these initiatives. At PepsiCo, the focus is on an entire culture of diversity, and Nooyi has said, "Anyone can provide policies, but providing a culture which fosters and encourages women at work is difficult."

WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE INITIATIVES AT E.&J. GALLO WINERY

E.&J. Gallo Winery (also known simply as "Gallo") has been rated as a top company for women to work with a top-rated female CEO.

Their main initiative for women in the workplace is Women in Wine (WOW), an employee resource group they founded to her women in their company connect with one another and share problems and solutions. WOW also hosts networking events, provides continuing education for their female employees, and hosts a mentorship program for members.
                         
In addition to WOW, Gallo is also a diamond member of Women of the Vine & Spirits, which is an organization that supports female leaders in the alcoholic beverage industry. Deborah Brenner, founder and CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits, has said in an interview that Gallo is a good example of a wine company with a strong commitment to women.

Although they haven't publicized other specific programs, an HR representative from the company has also stated that Gallo has initiatives committed to professionally supporting women and promoting them to leadership roles within the company.

In an article with U.S. Veteran's Magazine, one female employee said, "Gallo is the most diverse community that I've worked with to date. Everyone is focused on doing what's best for their team and the company. They stay true to the corporate values which are awesome and a big part of the reason I joined Gallo." This same article praised Gallo for seeking out skilled, talented women to place in leadership roles.

WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE INITIATIVES AT GENERAL MILLS

General Mills' accolades regarding women in the workplace initiatives includes Working Mother 100 Best Companies, the Best Companies for Multicultural Women, the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women lists, and the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. They are also a signatory to the United Nation’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP).

The company promotes women in the workplace in a number of ways, though I could not find initiatives with publicly promoted names in most cases. These are internal initiatives launched as company-wide policies over the last few years:

1. General Mills has stipulated that all ad agencies that work with them must employ at least 50% women and 20% people of color in their creative departments. This policy, however did receive some backlash in the media, as General Mills' own leadership team does not come close to these diversity standards.

2. The company has appointed a Chief Diversity Officer, whom the CEO meets with regularly along with other members of the senior leadership staff. They discuss the company's progress toward diversity goals by looking at the most recent metrics.

3. The recruitment process includes the following: "maintaining diverse lists of candidates, adjusting job descriptions to attract the best candidates, training managers to spot unconscious biases in hiring, and mining succession pipelines for employees with leadership potential." In addition, all potential candidates are screened to ensure that the support the company culture of diversity. 55% of new hires in 2016 were women.

4. General Mills has a comprehensive flexible work schedule which includes paid family leave and the freedom to create a schedule that support work-life balance. Employees can also take a sabbatical every seven years.

5. Mentoring circles are available to female employees to provide support through female role models within the company. In part due to this initiative, 51% of middle management roles are filled by women.

6. Started in 2016, Women in Leadership is an employee resource group for all General Mills female employees around the world to meet to discuss issues of retention, recruiting, and promotion of women within the company.

7. General Mills started a childcare initiative which includes a daycare facility at their headquarters, as well as discounts for other childcare centers throughout the country. Employees also earn backup care and sick-child care.

General Mills' lack of women in their upper-level management team has been the source of any negative press surrounding any of their initiatives, which have otherwise been met with praise.

CONCLUSION

PepsiCo, E.&J. Gallo, and General Mills are leading the way when it comes to women's initiatives in the food and beverage sector of the consumer packaged goods industry. What sets them apart is a commitment to gender equality across several initiatives, to support female employees in several ways.