Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi and Target Corp. chairman and CEO Brian Cornell will serve as co-chairs of the NEW Future Fund from the Network of Executive Women (NEW). The fund's goal is to create more effective strategies for women to excel to leadership roles in the retail, consumer goods, and services industries.
- The $5 million capital campaign intends to encourage 50/50 gender parity via investments in technology. These technologies will promote women's increased representation in leadership positions by utilizing industry-specific data and insights and specialized tools for training and collaboration.
- "Through the powerful partners NEW is bringing together, we have the chance to drive meaningful change across our industry, harnessing the talents of the best and brightest, women and men alike," Nooyi said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Nooyi has been a vocal leader for equality in the food and beverage industry. Earlier this month, she spoke out at a conference about being called "honey" and "sweetie" in the workplace and not receiving equal treatment from her male peers.
According to a recent Oxfam annual sustainability report, women's rights and equality is one of the categories that food and beverage companies received the lowest scores. The lack of diversity and/or lack of commitment to diversity and gender equality in the workplace are largely to blame.
The NEW fund's approach to invest in technology addresses the issue by harnessing Big Data and technological innovations in training and collaboration to prepare women for leadership. Technology could provide insights into what might be needed to break down barriers for women.
Women have also led investments specifically in the food industry. Food startup accelerator AccelFoods was founded by two women, and female investors also participate in Edible Ventures and other food industry-related venture capital and angel investment firms.