PepsiCo Announces Return-To-Work Program with Path Forward to Create Job Opportunities for Women Facing Caregiving-Related Employment Gaps

Applications are open for PepsiCo's returnship program exclusively in its South Division offering 16-week paid internships to help restart the careers of caregivers, including those whose employment was impacted during the pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla. , April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo Beverages North America, South Division, announces a new returnship program to help female professionals return to the workforce after taking time off for caregiving during the pandemic. This program furthers PepsiCo's wider commitment to gender parity in the workplace as an opportunity to tap into a diverse, motivated talent pool across the South that joins PepsiCo's global efforts to attract and develop professionals through a variety of tailored mentorships.

In partnership with non-profit Path Forward, PBNA South Division will offer 16-week internships to professionals who have taken at least two years off for caregiving with a minimum of five years of work experience. The program provides professional development workshops, feedback sessions, networking opportunities and mentorship support to interns along their journey as an on-ramp back into the workforce.

Roles across PBNA South Division offices are available for the program across Planning & Logistics, Sales Operations, Manufacturing, Retail Sales, and Foodservice Sales. Upon completion of the program, successful interns have the potential to be offered full-time jobs within these fields in Orlando, Atlanta, Tampa, and Louisville, with a chance to expand to other offices in the future.

"This returnship program joins PBNA South Division's multi-tiered approach to increasing representation across our workforce, as part of PepsiCo's objective to reach gender parity in managerial roles globally by 2025," said Heather Hoytink, President, PBNA South Division.  "We've seen success across our early, mid, and executive hiring programs in the South and the Path Forward program was a natural next step to explore an untapped, yet highly experienced talent pool given the impact of the pandemic on women who were forced to make a choice between career and caregiving. Our goal is to provide rewarding job opportunities for caregivers looking to return to work, setting them on the path to success with the right tools, competitive pay, and more."

"We are thrilled to bring a return-to-work program to PepsiCo Beverages North America, South Division to create a pipeline for placing qualified, often overlooked candidates in full-time roles," said Tami Forman, Executive Director of Path Forward. "This program joins hundreds of others we have implemented across Fortune 500 companies, with 80% of participants offered ongoing employment. These returnships are more than just a job for candidates – they create a life-changing path for caregivers, especially women who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, to rejoin the paid workforce, while also providing a great economic boost to the region."

Interested participants have until April 29 to apply. For more information about PBNA South Division's program, including how to apply, visit PepsiCo Careers.  

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About Path Forward  
Path Forward is a nonprofit organization on a mission to empower people to restart their careers after time spent focused on caregiving. We fulfill this mission by working with companies to launch and expand return-to-work programs, including "returnships", that give professionals a jump start back to their careers, while giving companies access to a diverse, untapped talent pool. Since its founding in 2016, Path Forward has worked with more than 100 companies including Amazon, Expedia Group, Grubhub, NBCUniversal, Allstate, Northwell Health, and others. Roughly 80% of the participants in these programs have been hired by the companies where they completed their returnships.

We strive to improve the attraction, retention, and advancement of global and diverse talent to ensure we sustain a high-calibur pipeline, and have set a target to reach gender parity in management roles by 2025."

SOURCE PepsiCo Beverages North America