Breaking boundaries: Kellogg Company’s unwavering drive for inclusivity
Business
“The way we continue to change things, and the way we continue to not be complacent as a diverse community, is by being involved. That’s how we maintain all the rights that we’ve achieved, and the rights that we’ve yet to achieve.” Paul Wheeler, corporate affairs director at Kellogg Company, spoke to myGwork about the importance of keeping companies engaged in diversity and inclusion efforts. Describing the personal value his team have brought to his career, and his hopes for the future of inclusivity, Paul discussed why avoiding complacency is vital to company progression.
Paul Wheeler describes his upbringing in Hampshire as comfortable and fairly privileged. However, it took him until his teenage years to realise his life was missing something incredibly important – exposure to diversity. Having a rather sheltered lifestyle as a child meant that Paul missed out on experiencing different cultures and identities. But this all changed the moment he began volunteer work.
“Until that point, I’d had quite a closeted privileged life,” he explained. “Then, I worked in an Oxfam shop, and I had to partly manage teams of volunteers and deal with customers, all from different backgrounds and ages. That experience really opened my eyes.”
The joy he felt being surrounded by people from different walks of life inspired Paul to take a whole new path in life. When looking through university options to study politics, Manchester quickly became his first choice. This was due to its diverse and expressive culture, not to mention its visible LGBTQ+ community. Going from the subdued environment of Hampshire to walking down Canal Street with a community devoted to unabashed self-expression, Paul’s confidence increased immensely.
Building a new life
Opting to use this opportunity to build a new life, Paul decided to be out and proud from the moment he joined university. He helped to run the student union, even joining the LGBTQ+ club on campus. This new, assertive outlook eventually led to him meeting his partner – who he celebrates 25 years together with this year. When it came to coming out to his family, he described their reaction as simply “okay.” Though not overtly negative, it was a reaction typical of the 1990s, following the damaging stigma the community frequently faced because of the AIDS crisis. He always had the support of his grandmother though, who had a gay friend at the time. Paul says he has always cherished the caring role she played in his life.
After graduating, Paul entered a career in PR, enjoying roles in agencies and continuing to campaign in his spare time. His experience at university inspired a passion for communications which he pursued, eventually joining the team at Kellogg Company. Paul has an accomplished career with many highlights, including meeting King Charles and working with prominent celebrity book launches. But the standout aspect of his journey so far is the bond he has created with his teammates at the company.
“I have an amazing team of people that I work with, who continue to go the extra mile, continue to be creative, and continue to challenge me,” he stated. “The people that I’ve worked with in my career have been the highlight of it.”
Climbing the ranks
Paul’s dedication to unions and campaigning in university continued into his adult years. He joined the Kellogg Company LGBTQ+ network when it formed in 2018. At first, this network only consisted of a few LGBTQ+ employees and allies sitting in a cramped room. There, they’d discuss the small efforts they could make to inspire change. Since then, the network has evolved and grown beyond their expectations. The frequent events, including sponsored picnics and charity partnerships, proved the increasing impact of the network on Kellogg Company’s placement on the Stonewall Index. In 2019, the company ranked 432nd, and in 2023 they ranked 108th. Paul puts this great success down to following frameworks and keeping as organised as possible.
“I think that just shows the power of a couple of things,” he explained. “Being out and being visible, but also being organised. I really passionately believe that. Don’t be complacent with companies if they aren’t doing as well as you think they should – get involved. Ultimately, organisations and companies want to be better, but you’ve got to stand up and help people see how they can be better.”
Promoting diversity
Beyond the prominent progress made by the LGBTQ+ network, Kellogg Company has also branched out into other areas of promoting diversity, in an effort to make its business as inclusive as possible. One such example is the 50/50 Gender Parity group, organised with the goal of achieving gender equality in the workplace in areas of employment number and salary, and opening discussions of intersectionality. Kellogg also set up a specific program focused on peer mentorship called Women in Leadership, along with actively changing company policies and procedures. Upon setting up this network, they set themselves the goal of achieving gender parity at managerial level by 2025 and have already reached this goal in 2023.
This impressive achievement is down to the organised skills of the hardworking professionals at Kellogg Company, who are set on not only reaching their targets, but maintaining them once they have been met. A great concern for Paul looking at the future of diversity and inclusion efforts is businesses becoming complacent and shifting the focus elsewhere. It’s important to him that this narrative of social progression is maintained permanently moving forward, for the sake of authentic inclusivity.
“Over the last five years or so, there’s been a renewed focus on inclusion and diversity in the corporate world,” said Paul. “And yet, I worry that that time will come to an end, when businesses at the top retrench and feel the need to just focus the narrative of their business results, because that’s what investors are saying to them. Maintaining that social dialogue and the social impact that businesses have on diversity and inclusion is so important.”
