Empowering you, empowering her

Mónica Bauer
Paula Santilli
Marty Seldman

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FOREWORD

When women thrive, our company and our communities do too. I see it every day. Women in agriculture, women in sales and operations, women in management positions make our company and the world a more equitable and fair place to be.

So, when asked if I would write a foreword for this book, my answer was easy: “Of course!”

In the last hundred years, the world has made exponential advances, but not one country has achieved gender parity. Despite all our progress, women still perform the majority of unpaid care and housework, and COVID-19 has created even more hurdles for women. Over the past year, millions of women have seen their jobs disappear, and millions more have left the workforce to take on additional unpaid responsibilities at home.

What we need is a more inclusive growth model for business and society, one that enables women to achieve and maintain financial security – and in turn provide financial security for their families, communities, and national economies. When women are part of our growth, we create a virtuous, win-win circle that lifts us all up.

As CEO of PepsiCo, I have the privilege of leading a company where women speak with a prominent voice. In fact, my immediate predecessor was Indra K. Nooyi, an extraordinary woman who steered PepsiCo for 12 years as Chairman and CEO. Women fill our ranks as farmers, customers, suppliers, and business leaders. They are redefining leadership characteristics, with a focus on strong communication skills, collaboration, multitasking, and emotional intelligence. Their power to influence, to lead, to change helps PepsiCo grow faster, stronger, and better each and every day.

That is why we are so passionate about empowering women at every stage of their lives and careers. We are striving to achieve gender parity in PepsiCo’s managerial ranks by 2025, and already more than 40 percent of our management roles are held by women. We’re continuing to promote pay equity, with men and women paid within 1 percent of each other in 70 countries representing 99 percent of PepsiCo’s salaried employees. Many of our brands are embracing the purpose behind gender equality. And we’re partnering with NGOs to equip women with key knowledge, vital resources, and economic support.

Empower You, Empower Her goes hand in hand with these efforts, delving into 12 rules to help women wield power. The rules offer wisdom into the nature of power dynamics, networking, self-promotion, and self-care, with each rule punctuated by real stories of women in our organization. These courageous and determined changemakers give candid, personal accounts of their learnings and progress, and the ways they have used their power to help other women rise. Hopefully, all of us can glean inspiration and insight from their stories as we work to build a society in which gender equality is the norm.

Fundamentally, gender equality is a question of power. Not the power to punish or subdue or control, but the power to make change and realize potential. The power that comes from using our voices collectively to create a better company and a better planet. Understanding such power is a task for both genders, and we all must recognize the web of relationships that affect its distribution, as well as how it impacts performance, decisions, and actions.

In the following pages, Paula Santilli, Mónica Bauer, and Marty Seldman explore this critical intersection. In doing so, they throw the door wide open for the next generation of women to seize their own power and pursue their own paths to success. With more leaders like Paula, Mónica, and Marty, we can build stronger, more resilient, more equal companies and communities as we continue into the 21st century.

Perhaps this will be the century when the wider world finally recognizes that gender equality is not just a women’s issue. That it is in all of our interest—men and boys, women and girls—to empower women, and it is long past time for men to take on this work as well. For men who don’t know where to start, this book can serve as a helpful guide. With buy-in from men and women at every level, we can influence positive change, transform our society, and achieve the broad gender equality that has eluded us for so long.

As you read and reflect on this book, I hope you will share what you learn with others, contributing to the domino effect that is rapidly reshaping businesses and communities across the world. PepsiCo is ready to lead the way in achieving a more equal future. But never forget: it’s up to us as individuals to create change one step at a time – to educate, to enlighten, and, ultimately, to empower.

RAMON LAGUARTA
CHAIRMAN AND CEO PEPSICO

PREFACE

Imagine a meeting room full of men—and me, the only woman at the table. That was how it was when, at age eighteen, I started an internship at an advertising agency in Argentina.

When I told my dad that I would major in social communication and advertising at the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires, he looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and remained silent. Now, it’s a popular field of study, but at that time in Argentina, it was considered a radical choice. Back then, there were only a few career options for women. I decided to take a different path.

Pursuing a major outside the norm drove me to get that advertising job immediately upon leaving high school. The agency didn’t pay me for a whole year, but still, I was happy. Since then, I have never stopped working. Not long after that first experience, I leaped to the corporate world. For more than thirty years, I have worked for American food and beverage companies. Today, I’m the CEO of PepsiCo Latin America.

When I tell people, who do not know me what I do, I always get the same response. A prolonged “Ohhhhhhhh” accompanied by a look of surprise. The follow-up question usually comes along: “You’re the CEO for all Latin America?” They must make sure. “Yes, you understood correctly. I’m the CEO. Why does it surprise you?” The fact is that it does surprise people—a lot. The same thing happened when I was a manager, general manager, vice president, and president. At each step of my career, being a woman in business leadership has surprised people.

Today, as a business leader in a privileged position, I want to support women’s advancement not only in Latin America but globally. We must strive to create opportunities and eliminate obstacles, so we move beyond the reaction I have so often experienced. Women who have dreams, potential, and passion should also imagine themselves as CEOs—or whatever their ambitions may be.

Too many women in this world are invisible, ignored, and undervalued. If there were more focus on helping women achieve success in the workplace, global economic growth would be tremendous. There is little awareness of this critical fact. We admire women’s endeavors to improve their lives; the more significant the struggle, the more admiration they deserve. We also have an opportunity to help women develop their careers. This book takes a practical approach by sharing stories of the successes, learnings, and failures of women around the world. If these lessons might help other women, why not share them? In the end, it’s like fanning the sparks of a small fire, so that the flame on the torch of women’s empowerment will burn stronger, brighter, and bigger than ever before.

Years ago, Mónica Bauer, vice president of corporate affairs and sustainability at PepsiCo Latin America, and I received individual executive coaching from Marty Seldman, president and cofounder of Optimum Associates. Marty has more than forty years of experience in executive coaching. Mónica and I both had professional issues that we hadn’t been able to resolve. We were facing leadership challenges. Marty helped me understand power. He helped me understand how others were reading me. Knowing those rules changed my daily routines and made me more strategic. He gave me the impulse that I needed and reinforced the unconditional faith that you can achieve any goal. Now it’s my turn—together with Marty and Mónica—to share all of it. We hope this helps you and other women to grow.

These pages are an ambitious exercise that develops twelve rules for a successful professional trajectory. They illustrate the rules through the voices of women who work at PepsiCo and who generously shared with us their wisdom gained from experience. There are always actions one can take to trigger change, and ours are on these pages. With this book, we aspire to fan the flame of opportunity for other women.

PAULA SANTILLI
CEO PEPSICO LATINOAMÉRICA

Women have an incredible power to trigger change. What’s more, if they have the right platform or ecosystem in place, they will continue to grow, fulfilling their enormous potential. Unfortunately, though, they sometimes experience great difficulty because they struggle with many stigmas. Since 2004, I have had the privilege of leading PepsiCo’s corporate citizenship agenda, first in Mexico and then in the rest of Latin America. I have been able to witness this struggle with my own eyes.

My drive stems from my family environment. I have a twin brother, and when he and I were growing up, my parents always treated both of us equally. Our family values were based on merit; achievement was what mattered. My parents instilled in us the importance of studying, learning, and growing. I followed my aspirations with single-minded focus until I realized women my age were starting their own families. I was still studying for my master’s degree when I told my parents, “I think you forgot to mention that at some point I should get married.”

When my children were born, I faced a challenging moment in my life. Some people are still surprised when a woman opts to pursue a professional career and personal life goals simultaneously. I must admit that it is hard: I wanted to be a good mother and take care of my children, but I never considered quitting my job. A few months after the birth of my second child, I was promoted to vice president of corporate affairs for PepsiCo Latin America, which meant traveling, a possible change of residence, and nonstop work. My husband always supported and encouraged me. Both my family and PepsiCo played a significant part in balancing my life. I took on a new challenge while I was still changing diapers.

During this process, I found a great ally: Marty Seldman. In my life, there’s a before Marty and an after Marty. He helped me through some difficult moments when my leadership was ineffective and negatively impacting my team. I came to understand the origin of many of the behaviors that were derailing me, and he gave me a strategy that supported my professional development. From the twelve rules, I learned

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