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Pepsico India Launches Project To Empower 1 Mn Women Towards Building Economically Independent Lives

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New Delhi, June 19, 2024: Consumer packaged goods company PepsiCo India on Wednesday announced the launch of RevolutioNari – A Revolution for the Nari, aimed at empowering 1 million women nationwide, in partnership with a consortium of organizations spanning 1,000 days.

The program is dedicated to building awareness that will enable women to take informed career decisions, provide upskilling opportunities to enhance employability, and unlock direct and indirect opportunities to improve livelihood prospects in unconventional roles like sales, manufacturing, and agriculture within the FMCG sector across levels.

Jagrut Kotecha, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo India & South Asia, said “We are proud to launch RevolutioNari, that embodies our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) philosophy of shaping our actions to empower communities, building Positive Agriculture and Positive Value Chain. Through a carefully crafted three-year strategy, we aim to enhance livelihood prospects for women in non-traditional roles across India, advancing progress through partnership with like-minded organizations to drive sustainable development and gender equality in the workforce. PepsiCo India believes in the power of diversity and inclusion to drive positive change. We believe that by investing in women, we are investing in an inclusive future for our country.”

The program will bridge the gender inequality gap in the workforce across India, the company said.

RevolutioNari aligns with PepsiCo India’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) philosophy, directly integrating into its key pillars – Positive Agriculture and Positive Value Chain, that guide the company’s future endeavours to positively impact the environment and communities. Positive Agriculture is aimed at improving the livelihoods of people in the company’s agricultural supply chain and communities, with a focus on women empowerment. Whereas Positive Value Chain intends to give increased access to degrees, vocational training, upskilling programs to boost their employability, while advancing the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda at the company.

Commenting on the launch, Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India and South Asia, said, “The launch of RevolutioNari – A Revolution for the Nari, marks a significant milestone in PepsiCo India’s decade-long commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have embarked on an ambitious journey to empower 1 million women in India, by facilitating their holistic development and helping them chart their paths to success. Our focus extends beyond merely providing opportunities and we aim to catalyze a fundamental change in how society views and supports economic empowerment for women. Through strategic interventions and tangible actions, we are laying the foundation for more equitable opportunities in unconventional roles, enhancing the livelihoods of women across India.”

In the first phase of RevolutioNari, PepsiCo India is targeting undergraduate women in multiple disciplines, including STEM and Agriculture, underprivileged women, and senior secondary school students across 100 cities in India. By joining forces with partner organizations and leading corporates, the company will leverage collective expertise and resources to amplify the impact of its RevolutioNari campaign. So far, PepsiCo India has onboarded ecosystem partner organizations - Nirmaan Organization and The Social Lab Foundation, and Internshala, the tech partners to enable community reach-out for the initiative.

As part of this project, the company is introducing several training programs, including technical skill-building and internships, specifically designed for women in the manufacturing and sales sectors. Building awareness and unlocking direct and indirect livelihood opportunities are integral components of the RevolutioNari campaign. Numerous awareness and frontline hiring initiatives like Learn Today Give Tomorrow (LTGT) program, Lateral Hiring programs for Managerial and frontline jobs and Internship Programs specially curated to enable young women   are being set in motion to achieve a gender-balanced workforce at PepsiCo India by 2026 across all levels.

Moreover, a Tripartite MoU with the Assam Skill Development Mission (ASDM) & Directorate of Employment & Craftsmanship training (DECT) has been signed for upskilling women students from industrial training institutes in Assam to develop a pool of qualified women for front-line plant positions at PepsiCo India.

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