Supporting our partners, creating a sense of belonging

Barista in black cap and facial covering waves as he opens the door to Starbucks cafe

We aim to create environments where every partner (employee) is welcome and feels a sense of belonging. As our journey continues, we’re taking bold actions with intention, transparency and accountability.

Strengthening a Culture of Inclusion

Increasing access to mentorship

In 2021, we connected our Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) partners at the director level to senior leaders through a new mentorship program, providing 1:1 sessions and ongoing guidance.

“A program of this kind could go a long way in building not only skill and capability, but engagement and fostering a sense of hope and belief that I can maximize my true potential, and there’s room for me to do more than I’m doing today.” Shanel, director of regional operations in Georgia and member of first cohort

The next mentorship series begins in early 2022.

Developing coaching opportunities

Pulling from learnings of the mentorship program, we’re launching a Leadership Accelerator Program to support coaching of BIPOC partners in non-retail roles who are still early in their careers.

“I want every partner to feel a sense of equity and belonging and being able to be their authentic selves every day. We’ll make a difference in this world. We’ll be the company that shows what’s possible.” — Dennis Brockman, Starbucks chief inclusion & diversity officer

The program launches in summer 2022.

Growing participation in our Partner Networks

Starbucks Partner Networks are partner-led groups that bring together people with shared identities and experiences, along with allies, to promote a culture of inclusion and contribute to the success of our partners and our business. They are thoughtful advocates and powerful voices to help promote change and understanding within the organization and beyond.

Today, we have 12 Partner Networks, with 77 active chapters in the U.S. To learn more, click here.

Maintaining 100 percent gender and race pay equity in the U.S.

Starbucks continues to pursue and maintain 100 percent pay equity by race and gender for similar roles in the U.S. Learn more about reasons for the gender pay gap and the best practices and tools Starbucks uses to close the gap here.

Providing tools and trainings to create inclusive environments in stores

We’re committed to equipping managers and partners with the tools and training necessary to create store environments that are free from the effects of implicit bias. This includes a detailed discussion guide with scenarios for managers to understand how to connect with each partner more deeply, based on their individual experiences and challenges.

Updated and relevant training for all partners

We are requiring all leaders who are vice presidents and above to complete a two-hour anti-bias training and the foundational and racial bias courses from the To Be Welcoming curriculum. The full curriculum is also available to all partners and the public at no cost.

Setting and maintaining representation goals

We are continuing to pursue our goal of at least 30 percent BIPOC representation at all corporate levels and at least 40 percent at all retail and manufacturing roles. To see how we are doing, check out our interactive view of Starbucks workforce data.

Creating accountability at leadership levels

All Starbucks executives will be accountable for driving inclusion and diversity within their teams, and we’re doing so by tying executive compensation to our inclusion and diversity goals.

Learn about how we celebrate heritage at Starbucks, and how our partners are part of our equity, inclusion and diversity journey:

thumbnail for Qiong, coffee cupper – China 

Qiong, coffee cupper – China