KFC announced today it has achieved gender parity across its global corporate offices, with women now constituting 51% of the company’s restaurant support center team.
According to a press release, KFC has been measuring progress using the McKinsey & Company Inclusion Survey, which tests whether a subset of employees believe they have an equal chance of success within the company. The survey measures the “gender experience gap” to understand the differences in employees’ observed, perceived, and lived experiences.
“We’re thrilled to announce we’ve closed the gender experience gap at KFC. This is a reflection of the work environment we’ve built that empowers, retains, and develops future women leaders. Our continued commitment to gender parity allows us to unlock a powerful talent pool and supports a workplace where anyone can thrive,” Cristi Lockett, chief people officer of KFC Global, said in a statement.
KFC’s parity milestone comes on the heels of McKinsey’s 2023 Women in the Workplace Report, which shows that for every 100 men promoted from entry-level to managerial positions, just 87 women received similar promotions.
KFC is the first of Yum Brands’ brands to achieve gender parity as part of the company’s broader goal to do the same in leadership positions across its global system by 2030. The company made that commitment in 2018 as part of the Paradigm for Parity coalition.
Last year, more than 42% of the company’s leadership positions were held by women, up materially from about 30% when the goal was first announced just five years ago.
Yum’s gender parity work extends back more than two decades, as a founding member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum in 1999. The company has also been recognized for its efforts by the Bloomberg Gender-Equity Index, Forbes’ “Best Employers for Diversity” list, Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, Newsweek’s “America’s Greatest Places for Women” list and more.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]