Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Jump To: Our Recent Progress | Our Strategy

We actively foster an inclusive environment, where diversity is embraced as an advantage. This is a cultural climate that spans the entire McDonald’s System. It builds on the work we’ve done around the world, recognizes where we can continue to make strides and takes every opportunity to emphasize that inclusion is central to who we are.

Inclusion isn’t just something we talk about; it’s central to who we are. We foster inclusion through our business decisions, while taking action to advance it within the communities where we operate, because improving ourselves and society more broadly are mutually reinforcing goals.

The McDonald’s System is doubling down on our vision for a completely inclusive brand. Most importantly, we believe that everyone in the System has a role to play in bringing that vision to life and we aim to be transparent about our progress and challenges along the way.

Our Recent Progress

• We have closed the small pay gaps identified in our 2022 pay gap analysis.
  
  
• Over 420 suppliers signed the Mutual Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as of the end of 2022, while our U.S. systemwide spend with diverse-owned suppliers was 25.0%, resulting in McDonald’s reaching its 25% diverse-owned supplier spend goal for the second year in a row.^{4, 5}
  
  
• We increased representation of women globally in leadership roles (Senior Director and above) to 43%.^{1, 2}
   

Read Our Latest Reports for Our Performance in Detail

Back to Top
 

Our Strategy

At McDonald’s, our strategy for the future is built on a simple idea: when we live our values, we succeed. Our approach focuses on three areas:

1. How we can best represent the diverse communities in which we operate.
   
   
2. How we can accelerate cultures of inclusion and belonging in our operations globally.
   
   
3. How we can use our scale to help dismantle barriers to economic opportunity.

Our values are the backbone of our brand. They’re the driving force behind every decision we make and part of every experience we create. But there’s one value – inclusion – so foundational that it inherently enhances how we show up in every space. After all, to really serve, it is important that we serve everyone. Leading with integrity means treating everyone with respect and dignity. These are expectations from the brand that everyone, everywhere, should be able to count on – in our restaurants and in the communities we serve.

No matter their role or contribution to McDonald’s, we believe inclusion is everyone’s responsibility.

Living our values means delivering on them every day, in ways that everyone can see. It means building trust by showing the millions of people who visit us daily – as well as each individual working in a McDonald’s restaurant or our corporate offices – that we care about what they care about.

Inclusion isn’t just something we talk about; it’s central to who we are. We foster inclusion through our business decisions, while taking action to advance it everywhere we operate, because improving ourselves and society more broadly are mutually reinforcing goals.

1. Represent the Diverse Communities in Which We Operate

As a leading global brand, we’re moving the needle on representation, ensuring diverse backgrounds and experiences are represented at a senior and board level.

We promote a bias-aware and inclusive workplace that enhances and supports a diverse talent pipeline, by combining cutting-edge technology with the latest strategic thinking and best recruitment practices to attract, retain and promote. We’re driving inclusive, bias-aware workplaces, in part, by blending technology and new recruiting techniques, including:

• Using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create gender-neutral, inclusive job descriptions.
  
  
• Driving our partnerships on campus with minority-serving institutions (MSI’s) as well as solidifying a national & functional diverse recruitment strategy through job postings, career fairs and workshops.
  
  
• Employing a variety of approaches to reduce the potential for bias in the recruitment process.
  
  
• Strategically structuring interviews and interview guides to help support equity and fairness throughout the selection, interview and offer process.

Read more about our Employees and Communities in our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report (PDF).

2. Accelerate Cultures of Inclusion and Belonging

Equal Pay for Equal Work

At McDonald’s, we recognize the critical importance of working towards greater equality around pay practices and how that influences the battle against inequity in the workforce. We also believe that transparency is important when building trust with our people, living our values and holding ourselves accountable, which is why we set an equal pay goal in 2021.

Our annual equal pay analysis compares employees in similar roles, while considering the many factors that legitimately drive differences in pay between employees, such as experience (general, McDonald’s-specific, job-specific), job level/grade, performance and location. We address any discrepancies we find and report on our progress.

We set a goal to run pay gap analyses and close identified gaps annually. We will report on our progress as we continue to advance our strategy.

See our Talent & Benefits page for more details on our compensation philosophy, including the Global Pay Principles in place across our owned markets to ensure that good pay practices are understood, consistently implemented and executed across McDonald’s.

Read more about our Employees in our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report (PDF).

Employee Business Networks

Our employee business networks (EBNs) are employee-led, volunteer, business-focused forums. EBNs support an inclusive work environment, foster relationships, advance career development opportunities and help grow our business. They provide members with the opportunity to network, learn from one another and grow their careers together. EBNs also provide a source of mentors, role models and sponsors, and give members access to senior leadership, information on career strategies and opportunities for leadership skill building.

Members and allies of our nine EBNs help McDonald's build a diverse pipeline of inclusive future leaders. Active members practice leadership skills to prepare for future roles – leading teams and projects, managing budgets, developing strategy, writing and presenting to senior leaders.

Our EBNs bring our Company values to life every day and share important and timely cultural insights when situations arise within and outside of McDonald’s. We remain proud to have leveraged their perspectives in real time to create meaningful and overdue change by standing in solidarity with partnering organizations that challenged anti-hate movements and advocated for social justice – in support of members of impacted business networks – to promote inclusion and belonging.

Our Employee Business Networks Supporting Our DEI Strategy

• Asian Pacific Middle East Network (APMEN)
  • Mission: To inspire and support development of Asian Pacific and Middle Eastern employees so they can reach their fullest potential.
     
• Disability Inclusion Group (DIG)
  • Mission: To create spaces of representation and belonging within the McDonald’s community for people with disabilities and their allies.
     
• Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN)
  • Mission: To promote a culture where women at all levels have an equal opportunity to develop, advance and succeed in every market across the world. GWLN brings together leaders from around the world to align around and activate initiatives that help support the advancement of women throughout our System. GWLN also provides a network for women to support one another and share best practices.
     
• Hispanic Employee Business Network (HEBN)
  • Mission: To drive business momentum, elevate talent and build a pipeline of Hispanic leaders at McDonald’s.
     
• McDonald’s African American Council (MA2C)
  • Mission: To be a world-class employee network that supports diversity and fosters the inclusion and advancement of employees who identify as Black or of African descent. MA2C drives business results by elevating talent and business contributions of our employees.
     
• PRIDE Network
  • Mission: To foster an inclusive environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) employees, along with allies, by building awareness and driving positive change.
     
• Veteran Employee Business Network (VEBN)
  • Mission: To recognize, cultivate and elevate the exceptional characteristics of McDonald’s veterans, their families, colleagues and supporting communities.
     
• Working Parents Business Network (WPBN)
  • Mission: To foster an environment of inclusion for McDonald's employees who are working parents and caregivers through advocacy, shaping of policies, promotion of resources, and fostering of connections.
     
• Young Professionals Network (YPN)
  • Mission: To develop as a passionate group of professionals, YPN strives to develop future leaders while providing a fresh perspective that helps drive the business and energizes the brand.

Training and Mentorship

We worked with the Center for Creative Leadership to design an Inclusive Leadership course for our employees in Director-level positions and above. The course, launched in 2022, focuses on ways to identify Relevant Opportunities, Elevate Equity, Activate Diversity and Lead Inclusively (REAL). Specifically, leaders reflect on their own understanding of DEI and have the opportunity to develop plans relevant to their teams that activate the three drivers of inclusion – Connection, Vulnerability & Courage and Investment & Resources. The program also encourages leaders to examine policies, practices, actions, circles of influence and connections that contribute to strengthening a culture of inclusion at McDonald’s. The intent is for leaders at Director level and above (or market equivalent) to complete the Inclusive Leadership Experience. As of the end of 2022, 62% of Corporate and market Staff at the Director level and 100% of Officers either completed or registered to attend the session. This high level of participation is an indication of the strong commitment to continuous learning and development at McDonald’s.

Additionally, in 2022, we launched our Diversity and Inclusion Education page. Available to Corporate Staff, it features a variety of e-learning opportunities focused on educating learners, at all levels, on ways to be more inclusive and advance inclusion daily. The page offers on-demand online courses, virtual instructor-led courses and other learning resources, including disability inclusion learning resources. In 2022, this page was accessed by corporate employees across 16 different countries, with over 4,000 users accessing curated eLearning resources and over 300 selected to attend live, virtually facilitated sessions.

3. Dismantle Barriers to Economic Opportunity

We choose to work with a diverse range of suppliers who share our values, and we are constantly welcoming new businesses into our supplier network because we understand a chance to work with McDonald’s is one that can change the trajectory of a business. Our success is thanks to a network of the world’s best small business owners – our Franchisees. We offer resources to current Franchisees to support them in making their own spaces more welcoming for everyone and to continue their businesses into the next generation.

Business Diversity and Our Mutual Commitment to DEI  

With an annual U.S. System-wide spend of approximately $17 billion³ in 2022 across McDonald’s and our U.S. Franchisees with suppliers in the U.S., we believe we have a responsibility and a unique opportunity to help drive change in our business and beyond. Collaborating with these suppliers gives us incredible scope to achieve the more equitable and inclusive future we want to see.

Of the amount spent by McDonald’s and our U.S. Franchisees throughout our U.S. supply chain in 2020, an industry-leading 24%⁴ was with diverse-owned suppliers – businesses 51% owned, managed and controlled by women and/or Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, veteran, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. We set a commitment to boost this to 25% by the end of 2025, which we have achieved in 2021 and 2022 ahead of the 2025 goal.⁵

Additionally, since 2021, our U.S. Marketing Department has been working to advance investments in, and partnerships with, diverse-owned production and media companies and content creators to enable deeper, more inclusive storytelling.⁶ We have established an advisory board of external marketing and advertising subject-matter experts to help identify the biggest barriers to economic opportunity for these suppliers.

To advance efforts at every point of our supply chain, we encourage suppliers to share our commitment to supporting representation, inclusion and equity. Starting in July 2021, U.S.-based suppliers of goods and services to McDonald’s are invited to sign a Mutual Commitment to DEI, through which they commit to taking action, such as:

• Implementing an overall DEI strategy, including annual training and/or education for employees to develop as better DEI practitioners and leaders.
  
  
• Increasing representation of underrepresented talent in leadership and in staffing of McDonald’s business, as well as increasing their use of diverse suppliers.
  
  
• Investing in innovation with new partnerships and programs designed to make a measurable difference.
  
  
• Implementing accountability systems to track and measure progress, and share updates and best practices on effective programs and measurement.
   

We recognize McDonald’s has an opportunity to help accelerate positive impact, not just in our own business but also for our suppliers, by inviting them to commit to building their own inclusive talent pipelines. By the end of 2022, over 420 suppliers had signed the commitment. To provide ongoing support to suppliers that sign onto the Mutual Commitment, we offer access to resources and tools, including sharing of best practices.

Strengthening Diversity and Inclusion With Our Franchisees

The diversity of our Franchisees is a source of pride and a point of importance. Through our global DEI efforts, we continue to attract more diverse Franchisees while also developing the next generation.

In 2021, we announced a Franchisee recruitment initiative to help increase the number of Franchisees from all backgrounds.⁷ Worldwide, the effort – tailored for each market – seeks to increase ownership opportunities for new talent from all backgrounds.

Beginning in 2021, we have committed $250 million in the U.S. over five years to provide alternatives to traditional financing, helping candidates who may face socio-economic barriers join the McDonald’s System.

We seek to reduce upfront equity requirements for eligible Franchisee candidates and plan to also leverage our network of banking partners to increase access to financing solutions that may help reduce the potential barrier to entry for candidates. Additionally, over 2,600 independent, local U.S. owners have access to five Franchisee association groups: the National Black McDonald’s Operator Association, the McDonald’s Hispanic Operator Association, the Women’s Operator Network, the Asian McDonald’s Operator Association and the McDonald’s Owner Operator Pride Network.

Hold Executives Accountable for Progress

We are holding our leaders directly accountable for making tangible progress on our DEI goals. Beginning in 2021, as part of our Allyship through Accountability program, the Company incorporated quantitative metrics related to human capital management into annual incentive compensation awards for its CEO and Executive Vice Presidents.

In 2021 and 2022, in addition to financial performance, executives were measured on several factors focused on driving behaviors and actions that help support the increase of representation of women and Underrepresented Groups⁸ in leadership roles (Senior Director and above) and championing our values.

In addition to holding our CEO and Executive Vice Presidents accountable for progress against the above metrics, in 2022 we introduced expectations holding all Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents and Managing Directors accountable for engaging in inclusive behaviors that support talent development and building a strong diverse succession pipeline, with their performance contributing to their annual performance ratings and incentive compensation.

To further drive progress on our DEI priorities, we also introduced an additional quantitative performance metric into annual incentive compensation awards for key officers and Managing Directors that creates accountability for accelerating the recruitment and training of diverse Franchisee candidates in line with our global Franchisee recruitment initiative.

Collaborating With Organizations

McDonald’s is a supporting partner of Diversity Lab’s Move the Needle Fund (MTN), participating in innovative programs that create a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. Through MTN, the Legal Department helped create a list of 10 actions that law firms and legal departments across the country can take to build and sustain a culture of inclusion for people with disabilities. The Legal Department is sharing this list with the legal community so everyone can benefit from this learning and adopt these actions. In addition, they worked with Diversity Lab’s team to schedule and host quarterly knowledge sharing forums to share and amplify the stories of people with disabilities in law. Our legal team is also sponsoring the expansion of the Diverse Partners Directory to include partners with disabilities from the 300+ Mansfield firms. The aim of this is to increase the visibility and inclusivity of disabled lawyers on client teams and as outside counsel leaders.

Additionally, in fall 2022, our Legal Department achieved Mansfield Rule Legal Department Certification. They also received the Mansfield Advocate Award for being the legal department that most effectively advocated for the Mansfield Rule and collaborated with outside counsel law firms to create and sustain diverse outside counsel leads and teams. To be Mansfield certified, legal departments are asked to consider at least 50% underrepresented lawyers for the opportunities identified below and achieve at least 70% of activities identified below during the Mansfield qualifying period:

• External hiring and/or promotions for top role(s).
  
  
• External hiring, internal transitions and/or promotions for senior-tier management.
  
  
• External hiring, internal transitions and/or promotions for mid-tier management.
  
  
• External hiring, internal transitions and/or promotions for other lawyer positions.
  
  
• Hiring for interns or temporary lawyer positions.
  
  
• Discretionary high-visibility opportunities that provide skills building and exposure to internal and external business leaders.
  
  
• Written and transparent job responsibilities for all senior and mid-tier management roles.
  
  
• Written and transparent processes for advancement opportunities and promotions within the legal department.
  
  
• Hiring new outside counsel for new or existing matters.
   

We are signatories of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. It will continue to act as a guiding force as we increase global efforts to improve representation of women at all our Company levels. We are a part of Catalyst’s Gender and Diversity KPI Alliance (GDKA) and pledge to adopt key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure and improve diversity in our organization. Many of our markets lead in their inclusion efforts and have signed up to pledges such as:

• The BlackNorth Initiative to help remove anti-Black systemic barriers in corporate Canada.
  
  
• The Charta der Vielfalt to promote the recognition, appreciation and integration of diversity into Germany’s business culture.
  
  
• #JamaisSansElles to nurture gender diversity; McDonald’s France pledges that there will not be any public or media events hosted without women present.
   

For our communities, deepening our commitment to DEI means finding more ways to be there for the people who live and work in the places we call home. Organizations leading the fight for equity and social justice have long been important partners that advise on our work and push us forward. We’re proud to collaborate with the following organizations:

• The Ascend Foundation
  
  
• Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS)
  
  
• Black Men in Tech
  
  
• Business Disability Forum (BDF)
  
  
• Catalyst
  
  
• Chicago Minority Supplier Diversity Council
  
  
• Chicago Urban League
  
  
• Chinese for Affirmative Action/Stop AAPI Hate
  
  
• Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF)
  
  
• Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI)
  
  
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI)
  
  
• Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI)
  
  
• Disability:IN
  
  
• Diversity MBA
  
  
• Executive Leadership Council (ELC)
  
  
• Global Summit of Women
  
  
• Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE)
  
  
• Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR)
  
  
• Human Rights Campaign
  
  
• I Choose the Ladder
  
  
• Minorities in Agriculture National Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS)
  
  
• Multicultural Foodservice Hospitality Alliance (MFHA)
  
  
• National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian
  
  
• National Action Network
  
  
• National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE)
  
  
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  
  
• National Black MBA Association
  
  
• National Federation for the Blind
  
  
• National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC)
  
  
• National Urban League
  
  
• OCA-Asian American Advocate
  
  
• Obama Foundation
  
  
• Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
  
  
• PUSH Excel
  
  
• Red Cross
  
  
• UN Women
  
  
• UnidosUS
  
  
• US Black Chambers, Inc.
  
  
• US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  
  
• WEConnect International
  
  
• Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
  
  
• Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF)
  
  
• YWCA (national)

Back to Top

Footnotes

¹ The December 2020 baseline data shows women make up 37% of leadership (Senior Director and above) roles.

² 2022 Data includes aggregate numbers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the U.K. and the U.S. Corporate employees who support our Development Licensees are also included. Data was obtained through various means, including informal identification and voluntary self-disclosure.

³ This figure includes supplier spending by all restaurants, whether operated by McDonald’s or by Franchisees as of the end of 2022. Further, this figure is inclusive of U.S. Company-owned restaurant spend, supply chain, restaurant development, marketing, legal, global technology, workplace solutions, communication, finance, global people and other corporate functions. This figure also includes purchases made by Franchisees for advertising, restaurant development, technology, food, distribution, packaging, equipment and uniforms. This scope excludes noncontrollables (taxes, utilities, rent, aircraft fuel, airport fees, facility leases, donations, bank fees and subscriptions).

⁴ This figure includes supplier spending by all restaurants, whether operated by McDonald’s or by Franchisees. Further, this figure is inclusive of U.S. Company-owned restaurant spend, supply chain, restaurant development, marketing, legal, global technology, workplace solutions, communication, finance, global people and other corporate functions. This figure also includes purchases made by Franchisees for advertising, restaurant development, technology, food, distribution, packaging, equipment and uniforms. This scope excludes noncontrollables (taxes, utilities, rent, aircraft fuel, airport fees, facility leases, donations, bank fees and subscriptions). Our diverse-owned diversity spend figures in the U.S. includes both self-certified and formal industry-recognized certification and Tier 1 and Tier 2 spend. Tier 1 suppliers are those from whom McDonald’s buys directly. Tier 2 suppliers are those with whom our suppliers do business. FY2020 percent spend through the U.S. System with diverse-owned suppliers was restated following update of diversity classification of two suppliers and evolved data practices around Tier 2 spend reporting and accounting for Supply Chain managed spend for equipment and operating supplies.

⁵ Our goal continues to be to attain 25% U.S. System-wide spend with diverse-owned suppliers by the end of 2025. Variance of System-wide spend with diverse-owned suppliers may occur in 2023 or 2024.

⁶ Paid media investment represents contracted dollars with suppliers. The classification of media and production companies and content creators as diverse-owned suppliers is determined by both self-certification and third-party certification.

⁷ Data was obtained through various means, including affinity group membership, informal identification and voluntary self-disclosure. As of June 2020, McDonald’s Registered Applicant process for new Franchisees includes voluntary self-identification, which has strengthened our data collection efforts. 2020 through 2022 data for existing Franchisees continues to reflect information obtained through affinity group membership, informal identification and voluntary self-disclosure, outside of the Registered Applicant process.

⁸ In the U.S., the term “Underrepresented Groups” generally means people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, or otherwise as people of color, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people from religious minorities, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes. For purposes of McDonald’s reporting, including with respect to human capital metrics and equal pay, “Underrepresented Groups” is defined as people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes.

Back to Top