Alcohol beverage company Diageo North America has partnered with veterans Dia Simms and Erin Harris to launch a new initiative – Pronghorn; to drive diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the spirits industry.
The launch of Pronghorn will create a dedicated standalone business with a sole focus on expanding DE&I within the beverage alcohol industry; to drive meaningful and long-lasting change across the industry ecosystem. Currently, the Black community represents 12% of consumers across the US beverage alcohol category, but they are inequitably represented within the industry; from both employment and ownership perspectives. Diageo North America aims to address these inequities head-on by joining the initiative as a founding partner; with a significant investment in the launch of Pronghorn. In its initial phase, it will focus on addressing the lack of equitable Black representation in the spirits industry by stimulating entrepreneurship, recruitment and retention.
“We’re honoured to work alongside industry veterans and visionaries as they work to create a blueprint to effectively diversify an entire industry,” commented Debra Crew, President of Diageo North America. “We recognise that the Black community within the category has been underrepresented; and there are few sources of funding available. Our aim is to swiftly fuel change in the right direction with the qualified and motivated guidance of the creators of Pronghorn.”
Through this partnership, Pronghorn will identify and nurture new brands and nourish emerging businesses through capital investment; generating hundreds of new founders and thousands of participants, and disrupting from within an industry that creates $353 billion in economic value. It will help participants within the Black community achieve the goal of generating $2 billion in economic value in the US, according to Diageo.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION GOALS
“Diversifying the industry accelerates innovation and competitiveness, and our strategic approach to recruit, retain and advance the Black community and communities of colour within the industry alongside Diageo North America couldn’t be more necessary and timely,” stated Pronghorn Co-founder, Erin Harris. “We understand first-hand the importance of being motivated; and the critical need for ownership and participation at every level of the category.”
It’s important that the “Black community is represented on both sides of the bar; from brand creation to boardrooms and everywhere in between”, added Pronghorn Co-founder Dia Simms. “We’re proud to partner with Diageo to make sure that the Black community has a seat at the table. And anywhere there isn’t enough room at the table, we’ll build a bigger table.”
Both Simms and Harris experienced the glaring lack of diversity within the industry as Black female executives. This experience led the duo to take action. In 2020, they set out to create a business that would focus on driving equitable change within the industry; resulting in the birth of Pronghorn.
Simms said she came up with the name, inspired by the story of the Pronghorn; a land animal known for being able to maintain the fastest speeds over the longest distances on land. Understanding that creating real change is a marathon and not a sprint; the effort became formally known as Pronghorn in 2021.
SPIRIT OF PROGRESS
Diageo’s partnership with Pronghorn aligns with its plan, outlined in Society 2030: Spirit of Progress; a global 10-year action plan to help create a more inclusive and sustainable world. As part of this plan, Diageo has committed to increase representation of global leaders from diverse backgrounds to 45%; and achieve at least 50% representation of women in leadership roles. The company also wants to ensure that its community programmes will enhance diversity and inclusion of previously excluded groups by 2030; among other goals, as reported.
In North America, Diageo is elevating communities of colour, particularly in the areas of education and hospitality. For example, as part of the $20 million Diageo Community Fund, the company funded permanent endowments at 25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the US. It was also a founding contributor of the ‘Raising the New York State Bar’ Restaurant Recovery Fund; to help businesses adjust to Covid-19 requirements. Additionally, it has financially supported Covid-19 recovery efforts for Chicago neighbourhoods; by helping to create more public spaces.
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