Our primary objective for managing our impact on Guayakí workers and governance is to support employee well-being and to make Guayakí an engaging, diverse and inclusive place to work. We manage equity, diversity and inclusion, fair wages, and governance practices through company policies and procedures under our social purpose corporation structure.
In 2021, Guayakí Yerba Mate continued to create the foundations to make our integrated company more engaging, diverse, and inclusive for our workers in both North and South America. Updated Employee Handbooks for both Guayakí Sustainable Rainforest Products, Inc. and The Yerba Mate Co., LLC were issued to employees. Building upon our established practices of supporting our people’s well-being, updates to the Handbooks included increased Paid Time Off accrual rates, expanded vehicle policies, Paid Sick Leave for part-time employees, and separate Paid Time Off for voting, bereavement, and jury duty.
In 2021, Guayakí engaged with stakeholders on the material topic of equity, diversity and inclusion through the company’s membership in the JEDI Collaborative and participation in the JEDI Collaborative Women’s Peer Mentoring Circle. A third party consultant Nita Baum of b*free, guided 67 Guayakí managers in JEDI training by facilitating open and honest communication, understanding the predominant cultural perspectives, managing conflict resolution, and promoting inclusive behavior. A survey following this training early in the year that identified the need for measurable goals, transparency, and tools, and a 2021 Action Plan was developed. A workshop on fair and equitable hiring focused on inclusive job descriptions, equitable postings, building diverse candidate pools, unbiased interviewing, and addressing manager concerns. Legendary women’s advocate Nina Simons engaged leaders in reimagining leadership from a feminine and JEDI perspective.
Global Employees
BIPOC Representation
Women & Non-Binary
Female Board Members
Executive Leadership
Extended Leadership
