DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Diversity Enriches Our Perspective

We believe in the power of people from diverse backgrounds and experiences coming together under a common set of values to achieve uncommon results.

We aspire to be an inclusive workplace.

At Flowers, all perspectives are valued, all contributions are celebrated, and everyone has equal opportunity to learn, grow and succeed. As a way to foster a greater culture of belonging, we added inclusion training to our existing annual anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training.

We empower our people.

Our culture of appreciation and belonging means Flowers is a place where all employees can learn, grow, and thrive. We offer mentoring opportunities, apprenticeships, and learning and development programs across our organization. Additionally, our employee resource groups (ERGs) are open to everyone and designed to cultivate connections for employees with shared identities or interests.

We seek out new employees with diverse backgrounds and skillsets.

Flowers aims to attract employees through an inclusive recruiting process. A number of our bakeries actively champion second chance employment by recruiting formerly incarcerated individuals who are ready to re-enter the job market. We are building relationships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to expand our reach and recruit more diverse talent.

We want to make Flowers even better.

We are committed to understanding more about each other and the value of each person’s contributions. And we are turning to our employees to help us chart what’s next on our DEI journey—through intentional conversations and anonymous surveys. Additionally, we are continuously monitoring our progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and we are investing to advance diversity and inclusion to move our company and the baking industry forward.

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS

Flowers is proud to foster Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are open to everyone and are designed to support a diverse, inclusive workplace.

Presently, we offer W.I.S.E. and Common Ingredients, with additional groups in development. Women in Search of Excellence (W.I.S.E.) aims to empower female employees by creating a space for its members to connect, share and learn together.

Common Ingredients is designed to facilitate intergenerational collaboration and communication across the company.

HIRING AND RECRUITMENT

Our hiring efforts utilize a variety of channels, including online platforms, digital tools, campus outreach, apprenticeships, internships, and job fairs. We most recently kicked off new partnerships with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Georgia and Florida to strengthen our recruitment processes.

  • Second Chance Employment

    All Flowers bakeries comply with EEOC guidance related to hiring employees with criminal histories. Additionally, several our bakeries actively champion second chance employment by recruiting formerly incarcerated individuals who are ready to re-enter the job market. These second chance bakeries engage with judicial systems, correctional institutions, parole officers, and other community partners to identify and hire qualified candidates, providing an opportunity for them to achieve economic advancement and avoid recidivism.

Our flagship Dave’s Killer Bread bakery in Milwaukie, Oregon, is one of our biggest advocates for second chance employment. Between 30-40 percent of employees at that bakery are formerly incarcerated

TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION

We dedicate significant resources to learning and development. We believe it’s the company’s responsibility to give our team members every opportunity to grow as Flowers employees and as people. As a way to foster a greater culture of belonging, we added inclusion training to our existing annual anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training.

We also believe in the power of recognition. On our company intranet, we highlight how diverse perspectives can inform our professional and life experiences here at Flowers. We take it a step further and celebrate diversity in the communities where we live and work through charitable partnerships and programs.