Our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at Starbucks

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We are on a journey to advance racial and social equity for our partners (employees), our community and our society. And we have made progress. Almost 50 years ago, we set out to be a different kind of company—with a third place community where everyone is welcome and respected at its core. But now, today, in this moment, we know there is much more to do. Bold actions that we must take as our journey continues, to act with intention, transparency and accountability. 

It is a journey grounded in our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit. 

It is our responsibility, and it is our commitment.

Advancing Starbucks Culture of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

Our work to advance inclusion, diversity and equity at Starbucks has already led to important policies, programs and initiatives. We are building on the work in our prior Civil Rights Assessments conducted by Covington & Burling, including the recommendation to hire a Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Zing Shaw, vp chief inclusion & diversity officer, who joined Starbucks in December 2019 to help establish a strategic vision for the path ahead for Starbucks. To create an even more diverse and equitable workplace means there is still more to be done, and we are committed to taking further actions toward tangible and lasting change.


We will be intentional in cultivating a culture of inclusion, with a focus on partner retention and development.

  • We will launch a mentorship program connecting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) partners to senior leaders, beginning with a cohort of svp+ leaders and BIPOC directors in corporate and retail roles in FY21.
  • We will invest in strategic partnerships with professional organizations who focus on the development of BIPOC talent, providing additional development opportunities for our BIPOC partners. 
  • We will partner closely with the Black Partner Network, Hora Del Café, India Partner Network, Indigenous Partner Network, and Pan-Asian Partner Network to better understand and support the experiences of our BIPOC partners. 
  • We will invest in additional Partner Network development and recognition programs across all networks, including an Inclusion and Diversity Virtual Leadership Summit in Q2 FY21. 
  • We will create foundational Inclusion and Diversity learning modules for U.S.-based partners.
  • We will embed anti-bias content into all hiring, development, and performance assessment toolkits. 
  • We will enhance tools for our retail partners to improve internal talent advancement and opportunity in U.S. Retail. We will introduce a new Applicant Tracking System to help view promotion opportunities and for partners to express interest in open roles.

We will be transparent in our approach to Inclusion and Diversity goal setting and progress.  

  • We are committed to publicly sharing our current workforce diversity. (View Public Data).  
  • We will set annual Inclusion and Diversity goals based on retention rates and progress toward, achieving BIPOC representation of at least 30% at all corporate levels and at least 40% at all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025.
  • We will complete the roll out of an analytics tool that will provide leaders with visibility to current diverse representation relative to Starbucks representation goals.  
  • We will continue to publicly share our Inclusion and Diversity commitments, goals, and progress through annual reporting.

We will hold ourselves accountable at the highest levels of the organization.

  • We will incorporate measurements focused on building inclusive and diverse teams into our executive compensation programs beginning in FY21.
  • We will establish an internal governance structure to integrate Inclusion and Diversity throughout the organization, beginning with an Inclusion and Diversity Executive Council in Q1 FY21.
  • We will require all vp+ leaders to complete a 2-hour anti-bias training and the foundational and racial bias courses from the To Be Welcoming Curriculum as a role expectation. 
  • We will join the Board Diversity Action Alliance to act alongside peer companies as we are committed to representation of racially and ethnically diverse directors on corporate boards of directors.

Supporting community resilience

When we talk about using Starbucks “scale for good,” we mean that every business has the potential to promote equity in the community it serves; and since Starbucks serves more than 30,000 communities, we have the potential—and yes, responsibility—to promote equity on a larger scale than some other businesses.

We will take our next steps in strengthening the communities we serve. 

  • The Starbucks Foundation will build upon its Neighborhood Grants program:
    • $1.5M in additional neighborhood grants, prioritizing grassroots and community-based nonprofit organizations focused on local impact. These grants aim to uplift organizations led by and that serve Black Americans and will support nearly 400 local nonprofit organizations across the country.
    • $5M to launch a 2-year initiative focused on supporting nonprofits that serve BIPOC youth by accelerating investments in 1) Inclusion and Diversity practices and programs, 2) mentorship and youth leadership development and 3) youth skill-building to create thriving and equitable communities across the U.S. 
  • We will grow our community partnerships for hiring, training and supervising outreach workers who will support our stores by engaging with individuals in crisis with the goal of reducing strain on law enforcement agencies. This kind of outreach further ensures that Starbucks locations are welcoming places for all.

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