Bruna Gameiro is the company’s HR and D&I manager, owner of brands such as Kitano, Yoki and Häagen-Dazs
In November, Black Consciousness Month, General Mills employees take a one-hour break to talk about structural racism and the importance of engaging in the fight against racial inequality in society and at work.
Called Mover Day, it refers to the public commitment made by the Movement for Racial Equity (Mover), of which General Mills, owner of brands such as Yoki, Kitano and Häagen-Dazs, is one of the 47 signatories.
In this interview, Bruna Gameiro, HR and D&I manager, says that the purpose of the program is to be a “force for good, creating ways to positively impact its markets and communities”. Among the goals, the project foresees 10,000 leadership positions for blacks by 2030 and education, entrepreneurship and employability opportunities for more than 3 million people. “We have our own specific goals for hiring blacks and women”.
See below for details of the interview.
What is the result of the Moving Day promoted by the company in November?
Engagement and awareness of all employees on the importance of advancing on issues related to racial equity. Mover Day was the celebration of our public commitment to be a force for good and to act both to create an increasingly diverse and inclusive work environment, but also to work on our relationships with suppliers, customers and consumers.
Does General Mills believe the movement is helping to raise awareness of racism within the company?
Mover is important to raise awareness, especially given the magnitude of the movement, which has dozens of companies, whether multinational or Brazilian, in various sectors of the economy. There is no such agreement in Brazil so far, concentrating so much mobilization to advance in racial equity, with a bold goal of hiring 10,000 black people in leadership positions by 2030. The movement is fully aligned with what we seek as a company : attracting black talent and promoting effective actions in the fight against racism.
What are the mechanics of Move?
The Mover Day sought to mobilize the members of all companies through lives, conversation circles, videos, etc. with people who represent symbols in the anti-racist struggle in Brazil and involving all signatory companies. On this day, to celebrate one year of the movement’s creation, we invite our collaborators to reflect on structural racism in Brazil. The action comes fully
meeting what we have been looking for in our pillar of engagement, within our new D&I strategy: to promote means for conversations, deconstruction of biases and discussions on how to combat racism and create a more egalitarian and inclusive society for blacks and other minorities, in addition to of the empowerment of black voices.
Why did the company embrace this cause?
General Mills aims to be a “force for good”, creating ways to positively impact its markets and communities. We know that social injustices and racism are not new in our society, that much still needs to be done and we need to act quickly to change this reality. We understand as a company that we need to listen to people of color first, to understand that change must take place much more widely and everywhere. It is our responsibility to be transforming agents to generate effective and significant changes.
What signs indicate that being one of the signatories of the movement is a good path to follow from the brand’s point of view?
The movement represents an expressive mobilization, with dozens of companies and robust goals to advance in racial equity. We believe that by joining forces with so many important players, from different segments, we have the unique potential to promote significant and effective changes in Brazil, making this coalition a great historic milestone in the anti-racist struggle in Brazil.
What other actions does the company take to combat racism?
We have a new Diversity & Inclusion strategy, covering four pillars to guide our actions: Engagement, Development, Governance and Protagonism. We promote several lectures, discussions and conversations of courage and protagonism, where we give voice to our employees, seeking to generate emotional connection so that everyone contributes to these initiatives.
Did you create a calendar?
In November, Black Consciousness Month, we created a specific calendar, with debates and empowerment of black voices in order to reflect on racism and understand how each of us can be a transformative agent by supporting anti-racist measures in search of effective changes. Another important action was specific training for racial literacy, which addressed a set of practices to deconstruct ways of thinking and acting related to black or white people.
Do you provide internal training to achieve project objectives?
We train our human resources leaders and employees to carry out attraction and selection processes with deconstruction of biases, under a new strategy and governance for hiring people; We are also promoting selection processes attentive to diversity, in addition to having recently completed an internal census on the profile of our employees, which had an 82% participation and will provide us with important data to understand where we should focus our next steps. Another impact initiative that we recently brought to our environment was the creation of an inclusive communication guide, advising employees on terms that should be avoided, with guidelines for some specific situations.
Is the issue of racial prejudice within General Mills very serious?
At General Mills we do not tolerate prejudice of any kind. We promote actions and means for each employee to feel comfortable to express their personality freely. We are fully confident that the diversity of profiles leads us to broader worldviews, also contributing to the success of our business. Therefore, we constantly seek to carry out guidance and awareness actions to create inclusive work. We also have totally anonymous reporting channels, which are widely publicized and seek to involve our leaders, including taking actions to curb acts of prejudice in our company and welcome anyone who has gone through an uncomfortable situation.
In all countries racial inequality is a serious problem. In which regions is the issue more serious?
General Mills seeks to operate in all markets to promote anti-racist measures, but today the largest investments have been made especially in Brazil and the United States.
Does General Mills believe that the brand strategy must go through social commitments?
For decades, social actions have been part of our corporate strategy in all markets where General Mills operates. We believe that we must be a force for good, promoting the well-being of our communities, acting to promote fairer societies and care for the environment. We understand that, as a company, we are also responsible for promoting change and, therefore, we act to lead and invite other agents in our business chains to generate an impact on social and environmental commitments.
Will the consumer of the future demand attitudes towards anti-racist awareness from companies?
We believe that consumers are also increasingly aware that our society needs to advance on issues such as racial equity, understanding that large, medium and small companies are also important agents and have a responsibility to promote anti-racist measures to advance in an increasingly more fair and inclusive.
Does General Mills have a program for hiring black people? If yes, what is the goal?
In addition to Mover’s goal to generate 10,000 leadership positions for blacks by 2030 and education, entrepreneurship and employability opportunities for more than 3 million people, we have our own specific goals for hiring blacks and women.
How many black employees does the company currently have on its staff?
We recently carried out a census, which had 82% participation, in order to have data to support our Diversity & Inclusion pillars and understand where we should act to be an even more diverse company when we talk about race, color, people with disabilities, gender and orientation. sexual. The information is being consolidated and will help us in the next steps to define more actions.
