Starbucks is committed to 100 percent gender pay equity. We’ve achieved it – and maintained it – for partners in the U.S and we’re also working toward reaching 100 percent gender pay equity for Starbucks partners globally. Learn more about&nbsp;reasons for the gender pay gap and the&nbsp;best practices&nbsp;and tools Starbucks uses to close the gap.

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Read and learn more about gender pay equity

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To read more about how Starbucks addresses the gender pay gap, see <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2019/01/Covington-Report-to-Starbucks-Jan-23-2019.pdf">Starbucks 2019 Civil Rights Assessment</a> and the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2020/02/Starbucks-Civil-Rights-Assessment-2020-Update.pdf">2020 Civil Rights Assessment Update</a>.

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Infographic: How Starbucks is Addressing the Pay Gap - Starbucks Stories

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Infographic: How Starbucks is Addressing the Pay Gap

Starbucks is committed to 100 percent gender pay equity. We’ve achieved it – and maintained it – for partners in the U.S and we’re also working toward reaching 100 percent gender pay equity for Starbucks partners globally.

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Tata Starbucks creates opportunities for women through flexible employment programs as part of ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

Achievement celebrates Tata Starbucks 7th anniversary in India, reaffirming commitment to growth and progressive impact for Indians

MUMBAI, India – Today, Tata Starbucks Private Limited announced that women now make up 29 percent of its workforce, a key gender diversity milestone toward its goal to achieve 40 percent gender diversity by 2022. Tata Starbucks continues to promote opportunity for women within the company, boosting the share of female partners (employees) from 14 percent in FY14 to 29 percent in FY19, a figure that continues to grow.

In addition, Tata Starbucks announced it has achieved 100 percent pay equity for women and men, a landmark accomplishment that demonstrates Starbucks commitment to gender equality globally. Starbucks pay equity principles are based on equal footing, transparency and accountability. Tata Starbucks continues to create opportunities for female partners through an ongoing series of initiatives focused on an inclusive and diverse workforce to drive business growth. 

“By investing in our partners and fostering diversity across our organization, Tata Starbucks is able to reflect the demographics of the communities we serve across India,” said Navin Gurnaney, ceo, Tata Starbucks Private Limited. “Diversity and inclusion are an integral part of our business that makes us a better organization.”

One of Tata Starbucks diversity initiatives in India, Brew of Balance, creates opportunities for women returning to the workforce from maternity leave. The program offers flexible employment options including a 5-day work schedule, childcare assistance, access to the Women Inclusion Network @ Starbucks platform, as well as family and sabbatical leave.

“This achievement is the result of years of work and commitment. We believe it is important, as a company of our scale, to help bring more attention to this critical issue for women in India,” said Naveen Kumar Nerlaje, head of Partner Resources. “Starbucks has consistently led our industry on issues like pay equity, but there is still even more we can do ensure women in India excel in the workplace. To achieve 40 percent gender diversity by 2022, we are focused on achieving equal representation at the hiring stage by ensuring a balanced slate of candidates.”

Tata Starbucks is recognized as one of the top 100 Best Companies to Work and top 75 Best Workplaces for Women in India by the Great Place to Work® Institute in 2019, and one of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India by Working Mother and Avtar for three years running.

The announcement marks Tata Starbucks seventh anniversary in India. Since entering the market in 2012 as 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages Limited, Tata Starbucks has expanded to operate 167 stores and employs more than 2,000 partners across India. As Tata Starbucks continues to grow, so does its commitment to be a positive force in contributing to the future success of Indians.

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About Tata Starbucks Private Limited

Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 through a 50/50 Joint Venture with Tata Global Beverages and currently operates 167 stores in India across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Surat through a network of over 2,000 passionate partners (employees). Starbucks stores are operated by the joint venture, TATA Starbucks Private Limited, and branded as Starbucks Coffee — “A Tata Alliance.”

TATA Starbucks Achieves 100% Pay Equity - Starbucks Stories

In India, Tata Starbucks approaches 30% gender diversity milestone, aiming for 40% gender diversity by 2022.

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TATA Starbucks Achieves 100% Pay Equity

Employers come together and commit to following a set of principles for pay equity in the U.S.

On Equal Pay Day, April 2, Starbucks and 25 other U.S. employers in the<a href="http://www.employersforpayequity.com/home.html"> Employers for Pay Equity</a> consortium have joined to agree to a shared set of Pay Equity Principles to help eliminate the gender pay gap.

“The Pay Equity Principles we signed onto today – Equal Footing, Transparency and Accountability – were created not only to help us but also other organizations and businesses seeking to eradicate the pay gap,” said Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of Starbucks. “While the signatories to the Pay Equity Principles represent different industries facing different challenges to achieving pay equity, we all agree that by working together we can accelerate the elimination of the national pay gap.”

In 2018, Starbucks announced it had reached 100 percent pay equity for men and women and people of all races performing similar work in the U.S. &nbsp;Last month, at Starbucks Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the company <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/pay-equity-around-the-globe/">announced it had maintained it for another year</a> and verified that Starbucks in China and Canada, two of the largest global markets for company-owned stores, had also fulfilled the company’s commitment to achieve and maintain gender equity in pay.

“Strong leaders lead by example and Starbucks is one of the strongest leaders in the fight for equality and inclusion,” said <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/actions-need-to-match-words-5-questions-with-billie-jean-king/">Billie Jean King</a>, whose <a href="https://www.bjkli.org/">Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative</a> has signed on as a supporter of the letter, along with other leaders in this space including the National Partnership for Women &amp; Families, American Association of University Women and the American Civil Liberties Union. “It is very fashionable today to be ‘in the discussion’ on equal pay.&nbsp; But it is entirely a different situation and a more positive step to be a leader in the space, as opposed to being a passive listener. Actions need to match the words.”

The Employers for Pay Equity is committed to identifying and promoting best practices to ensure fundamental fairness for all workers with U.S. employers. Many of these companies signed the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/07/fact-sheet-white-house-announces-new-commitments-equal-pay-pledge">White House Equal Pay Pledge</a> in 2016, committing to conduct annual company-wide gender pay analysis; review hiring and promotion processes; to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers; and embed equal pay efforts into broader enterprise-wide equity initiatives.

“It’s really about sharing information. We want to have a deep conversation about this work,” said Elisa Van Dam, who works with Employers for Pay Equity as liaison with Simmons School of Business at Simmons University in Boston.

She said that committing to Pay Equity Principles raises the visibility of the work going on – and she hopes it will inspire other companies to join the consortium.

“The companies are where rubber meets the road,” she said. “Legislation is important in bringing attention to the issue, but companies do the work. This shows internally and externally that they are committed and putting the resources in.”

Read on to see the full draft of the letter.&nbsp; 

While many agree on the idea of equal pay, the hard work is putting it into practice.

For over fifty years in the United States, our laws have mandated Equal Pay. Although enforcement of the Equal Pay Act and civil rights laws have helped narrow the wage gap over time, there is still more work to do. Women in the U.S. are still paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men in the workforce; the disparity for women of color is even larger. At the current rate of progress, the wage gap will not be closed until 2106. Addressing the pay disparities that remain and the systemic forces that perpetuate them is critical for everyone.

We, the undersigned employers, believe that business can play a critical role in eliminating the national gender pay gap. Our organizations employ millions of Americans across multiple industries. Together, we have leveraged our collective experiences to create a shared set of Principles to Pay Equity. While every business has a different approach, our goal is to make the work behind eliminating the pay gap actionable and accessible to companies of all sizes.

Principles to Pay Equity

1. Equal Footing: From the start and throughout a career. One of the most important things to get right is starting pay, which greatly impacts pay as an employee advances throughout their career. Compensation should be based on a candidate or employee’s role, skills, abilities and experience, not their gender, race or any other protected classes.

2. Transparency. Achieving and sustaining pay equity is an imperfect process. We commit to sharing insights and learnings from our work to achieve pay equity. All employees are encouraged to openly ask and discuss wages without fear of retaliation.

3. Accountability. We will hold ourselves accountable through practices such as conducting an annual company-wide gender pay analysis across occupations, reviewing hiring and promotion processes to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers, and embedding equal pay efforts into broader enterprise-wide equity initiatives.

We invite others to join us in recognizing the importance of this issue. Visit <a href="http://employersforpayequity.com">employersforpayequity</a><a href="http://www.employersforpayequity.com">.com</a> to see how we are bringing these principles to life.

Starbucks is partnering with 25 employers to close the U.S. gender pay gap - Starbucks Stories

Starbucks is partnering with 25 employers to close the U.S. gender pay gap

Businesses come together and commit to following a set of principles for pay equity in the U.S.

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Last year, Starbucks announced it had reached 100 percent pay equity for men and women and people of all races in the U.S. – and committed to working toward gender pay equity around the world. On Wednesday, Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer, will announce that China and Canada are the first international markets to verify they have also reached that milestone for gender equity in pay.

The TV segment was meant to be funny. A reporter was interviewing children about the gender pay gap and asking them why they thought women were paid less than men.

But when Nahla Valji heard the response of a girl who was about 5 years old, she was devastated.

“She said that women earned less because they weren’t as good and weren’t really working as hard either,” recalls Valji, senior gender adviser to the United Nations general secretary. “When the interviewer asked her why, she said that she was sure most of them were just doing their online shopping at the computer.”

It’s a searing response that speaks volumes about how the gender pay gap affects girls from a young age. On average, women earn about 70 percent of what men make, Valji said. That doesn’t just take a financial toll, but also affects self-worth. It’s a problem that circles the globe; there is not any country today where women are paid equally to men, according to <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw61/equal-pay">UN Women</a>.

“Through undervaluing women, we reinforce a message to women to undervalue themselves,” she said. “What does that model for the next generation?” 

The gender pay gap is something Starbucks, which has 30,000 stores in 75 countries around the world, is committed to helping change, said Lucy Helm, executive vice president and chief partner officer. 

One year ago, Starbucks announced at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders that the company had reached 100 percent gender and racial pay equity in the United States. It also committed to working toward gender equity in pay around the world. 

Wednesday, March 20, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/coverage-of-starbucks-2019-annual-meeting-of-shareholders/">at this year’s annual meeting</a>, Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of Starbucks, will announce on stage that China and Canada are the first international markets to verify they have also reached gender equity in pay.

“We’re not just creating opportunities, we are creating equal opportunities,” said Johnson.

Equal pay has been a federal law in the United States since 1963, but it’s often not the reality. Overall in the U.S., women still make 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, according to <a href="https://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/">the American Association of University Women</a>.

While change is happening, progress has been slow. At the current rate, according to the World Economic Forum’s <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2018/">2018 Global Gender Gap Report</a>, which benchmarked 149 countries, it will take 202 years before gender parity is reached around the globe.

But rather than get discouraged, Starbucks’ Helm remains focused on how the company can help to close that gap.

Behind her desk in an office at the Starbucks Support Center, the company headquarters in Seattle, is a drawing, made by a friend’s young daughter. A pink crayon border surrounds the words, written in a child’s hand: “Be bold, be fearless but mostly be yourself.”

It’s a daily reminder of the possible – and importance of working for pay equity not just now, but for future generations.

“Pay equity is not just about pay,” said Helm. “It’s symbolic of one aspect of equity. When you reach pay equity it increases opportunity.”

Valji said she’s heartened when she hears about companies like Starbucks working toward issues of gender equity. “It is so important the private sector is taking a leading role on this,” she said. “What Starbucks is doing is significant – internally taking stock, holding themselves to being accountable and being transparent. Those principles are so important.”

Starbucks’ global efforts are supported by the equal rights champion, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative (BJKLI). and other leading national women’s organizations, including the National Partnership for Women &amp; Families and the American Association of University Women.

“Strong leaders lead by example and Starbucks is one of the strongest leaders in the fight for equality and inclusion,” said King, who was once the No. 1 one women’s tennis player in the world and has spent her career championing equal rights for women and social justice. “It is very fashionable today to be ‘in the discussion’ on equal pay. But it is entirely a different situation and a more positive step to be a leader in the space, as opposed to being a passive listener. Actions need to match the words.”

To that end, Starbucks has created a set of Pay Equity Principles that focus on three areas: 

Starbucks has made these pillars public, with supporting best practices the company adopts in the U.S., and is<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/starbucks-commitment-to-gender-racial-pay-equity/"> sharing them with other companies</a>.

“We can’t do it in a vacuum,” Helm said. “We are encouraging others to join us. We want to show it can be done – we’ve done it in the U.S. and we aspire to get to gender equity globally. We are always aspiring to do it better.”

It’s not enough to reach a goal – you have to keep working at it, stressed Helm. Maintaining equity requires vigilance. “We’re doing constant data analysis,” she said. “It’s not a once a year kind of thing.” 

The company works to ensure that pay equity is considered at every step along the way – whenever any partner is hired or promoted – and not just during annual reviews. That’s true in the U.S. and other markets, such as Canada and China. “It’s constant. We are fighting against a tide,” said Helm.

Michael Conway, president of Starbucks Canada, said that it’s important to focus on larger issues that can lead to inequity. 

“Even when you reach your goal, you have to keep working at it,” he said. “Our real focus is not on the number but on the behaviors and systems that drive equity.” 

In Canada, women make about 88 cents for every dollar men earn when it comes to hourly wages for full-time workers, according to<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2018/10/government-of-canada-introduces-historic-proactive-pay-equity-legislation.html"> Employment and Social Development Canada</a>.

“We’re committed to creating an equitable environment in Canada,” said Conway, “where everyone can flourish and be valued. We invite other businesses in Canada, and around the world, to join us in recognizing the importance of this issue not just for our employees but for women and families around the world.”

Addressing the complex root causes of the gender pay gap is critical in working toward change, said Valji of the U.N.

“It’s at multiple levels – how we value work in the home, barriers in the workplace and how we don’t value equal work in equal ways. Things that are perceived as women’s jobs are often undervalued,” she said. “Beyond that, women are disproportionately represented in lower paying jobs – such as care and leisure or administrative work. Even when they are performing the same functions in the same roles as men, the pay gap persists and is significant.”

Beyond having financial implications, a gender pay gap can affect how a woman feels about herself. Earlier in Valji’s career, she remembers initiating projects that she was then advised she needed to put senior men’s names on to have them taken seriously.

“The reality is how we judge people reflects on their own sense of self-worth and confidence,” she said, noting that it contributes to “imposter syndrome,” where women feel inadequate or question what they’ve accomplished. 

“Undermining self-worth is a self-reinforcing cycle,” she said. Sometimes, that leads to women not applying for promotion or assuming some jobs may be out of their reach, said Valji, citing research that shows a woman won’t apply for a job unless she sees her own skills reflected in 80 to 90 percent of the job description. Men will apply if they seem themselves in only 30 to 40 percent.

“It doesn’t matter where we are in the world. There is not a gender equal society in the world,” she said. “Every girl grows up with some kind of sense of that.”

Angel Yu, vice president of partner resources for Starbucks China, said she was inspired by the famous saying that “Women hold up half the sky.” But, she knows that around the world, they are often not paid equally for that work. 

That Starbucks China, which employs 52,000 partners, has gender equity in pay, is something that seems a given to Yu. For her and other leaders, it’s simply doing the right thing.&nbsp; 

“In Starbucks China, we are committed to upholding the principles of gender pay equity,” she said.

The current gender pay gap in the nation of China overall is similar to that of the U.S. and Canada. Women’s monthly income is about 22 percent lower than men, according to <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201803/07/WS5a9f6971a3106e7dcc140271.html">a survey from Zhaopin.com</a>, an online recruitment platform in China.

But Yu, the mother of two teenage daughters, said she’s hopeful for the future and that the strides being made for equity will continue. She encourages her daughters to feel confident and to stand up for themselves. She also mentors younger women early in their careers. 

“I’m passionate about helping them,” she said. 

Her own career has been driven by curiosity, early on leaving a comfortable job as a teacher near her hometown to pursue her dream of seeing more of the world. Now, she’s focused on helping others reach their potential. 

&nbsp;“I’ve always had a dream,” she said. “How high can I fly? What does the sky look like?”

Starbucks Canada’s Tim Gallant contributed to this report.

How Starbucks is working to close global gender pay gap - Starbucks Stories

How Starbucks is working to close global gender pay gap

Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer, will announce that China and Canada are the first international markets to verify they have also reached that milestone for gender equity in pay.

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How Starbucks is working to shrink global gender pay gap

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