WESTCHESTER, ILL. — Ingredion, Inc. listed four goals and milestones and four pillars when releasing its first-ever diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) report on Sept. 2.

The goals and milestones are achieving 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index as an employer of choice for LGBTQ+ employees by the end of 2022, reaching industry benchmarks for inclusion and belonging indicators on the company’s employee engagement survey by the end of 2022, improving representation of women in management with a goal of gender balance by 2030, and improving representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) at the management level.

Ingredion has scored 95 out of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index for policies related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Women working as managers or in higher positions at Ingredion represented 33.2% of all managers and those in higher positions in 2020, which was up from 31.9% in 2019. US BIPOC Ingredion employees working as managers or in higher positions represented 25.5% of all managers and those in higher positions in 2020, which was up from 24.3% in 2019.

The four pillars are diverse talent, an inclusive workplace, supplier diversity and community partnerships.

Ingredion has targeted school partnerships with the historical Black universities North Carolina A&T State University and Chicago State University.  Ingredion also has partnered with WayUp to source diverse talent hires from more than 4,000 new campuses and minority organizations.  WayUp helps early-career job candidates discover and be discovered by employers.

“We strive to create an environment where diversity is celebrated, and inclusion is embraced.” — James Zallie, Ingredion

More than 100 Ingredion leaders have completed the company’s inclusive leader education program that focuses on gender and racial bias as well as social concepts such as systemic racism, white privilege, power dynamics and microaggressions. Ingredion plans to collaborate with procurement to build a supplier diversity strategy, provide education around DEI and the potential impact of unconscious bias in the procurement processes, and explore the creation of a diverse supplier council. Ingredion also plans to build relationships with community organizations that work to advance the rights of vulnerable groups, including women, Black/African American and LGBTQ+.

“Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of our purpose-driven culture,” said James P. Zallie, president and chief executive officer of Ingredion. “We strive to create an environment where diversity is celebrated, and inclusion is embraced. This provides us the best opportunity to attract the best and brightest employees to drive an innovative culture focused on delivering sustainable growth for our shareholders.”

Sherri Dublin, vice president of DEI, Culture and Communications, added, “As we reflect on the challenges of the past year, our commitment to DEI is more important than ever. This report reflects the dedicated work of our regional DEI councils who have spearheaded initiatives across our global organization. We remain inspired by what we have accomplished. Together, we are helping to bring an Ingredion value to life and ensure that ‘Everyone Belongs.’”