Noodles & Company announced in March that it would tie executive compensation to diversity and inclusion, among other categories. This was announced when the Broomfield, Colo.-based chain’s CEO Dave Boennighausen signed CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge.

“Our mission is to nourish and inspire every team member, guest, and community we serve, and by pledging our commitment to CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, we are advancing that mission,” Boennighausen said at the time. “As a national business with millions of customers and thousands of employees, we have a unique opportunity — and responsibility — to influence and enact positive change in our society.” 

In October, the Seattle-based coffee chain’s CEO Kevin Johnson sent a letter to employees outlining the chain’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals. That letter announced a new policy linking executive compensation to the diversity and inclusion of their teams.

On a store level, Johnson said that Starbucks is committing to 40% BIPOC representation by 2025 and will be launching a mentorship program connecting Starbucks employees to leaders within their division to focus on developing and promoting diverse talent within the organization.

“We know that a more inclusive environment will create a flywheel that leads to greater diversity, and thereby greater equity and opportunity for all,” Johnson said in his letter to employees. “Greater diversity enables us to better fulfill our mission.”

In March, the chain promoted regional vice president Dennis Brockman to global chief inclusion and diversity officer and Michael Hines to vice president of inclusion and diversity, two roles the chain already had.

In reference to the new hires and in light of the chain’s October commitment, Johnson sent employees a letter stating, “For all of us at Starbucks, each day we must reaffirm our responsibility to one another — to care for each other, to strengthen our communities, and to ensure diverse perspectives are represented at the company’s highest levels […] We have committed to do so with intention, with transparency, and with accountability.”

Chipotle committed to tying executive compensation to diversity and inclusion goals in March. The fast-casual chain is creating an acceleration program to help promote diverse faces and voices at both the store level and support center level. Calling it a “formalized advancement process,” the company says it aims to help uplift diverse employees.

Also, 10% of executive officers’ incentive plans will be tied to their progress toward achieving these goals, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based company said.

“We are passionate about inspiring real change in people, food, and the environment every day,” Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs and food safety officer said in a statement. “The new compensation plan ensures our leaders continue to set the right example for our more than 88,000 employees while fulfilling our mission to drive change and cultivate a better world.”

Quick-service chain McDonald’s announced in November it would create a new position, vice president and global chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, to be held by Reginald J. Miller. Miller  was previously an executive at VF Corporation, parent of brands such as Vans, Timberland and The North Face. He replaced Wendy Lewis, who was previously chief diversity officer.

“Reggie will provide the necessary leadership and guidance to support our collective ambition while empowering our business with the tools, resources and support so that every single person in our company can play an active role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion,” global chief people officer Heidi Capozzi told employees in a Nov. 2 note viewed by Nation’s Restaurant News.

In February, the Chicago-based chain announced a series of new diversity, equity and inclusion goals, including filling 35% of its leadership roles (senior director and above) with people from underrepresented groups by 2025. The quick-service chain also said it aims to have women represent at least 45% of leadership roles (also from director and above) within the same timeframe, with a goal of reaching gender parity in leadership by 2030.

These goals, according to the brand, will now be tied to executive vice president compensation.

Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’ Brands created a new role, group vice president for diversity and inclusion, promoting Outback Steakhouse regional vice president Sheilina Henry to the position. This was one of the first diversity, equity and inclusion hires, taking place in in August.

“This is an important part of our culture and the new role enhances our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion,” said David Deno, Bloomin Brands’ CEO, at the time. “Sheilina is a talented, passionate and respected leader with extensive operations experience who will guide our efforts to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve at all levels within our company.”

Henry added, “Having experienced gender and racial bias throughout my life, I am proud of the steps Bloomin’ Brands is taking to create a culture that is more diverse and inclusive.”

During its annual summary of its Stand for Something Good initiative, a broad set of policies and goals around the quality and sustainability of the chain’s food, restaurants and community involvement, as well as its treatment of employees in April, Shake Shack announced new diversity goals.

The New York-based fast-casual chain set a goal for gender parity in its leadership team by 2025 as well as the goal that half of its leaders will be people of color.

“Since we opened our first Shack, we’ve been on a journey to foster a great place to work for everyone, and we feel strongly that setting new goals will help others when it comes to access, opportunity and advancement, and part of the change needed in our society in the fight for equality and against racism and bias. Having diverse representation across all functions and levels is important to our success and our growth,” Idris Stover, the chain’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion wrote in a blog post at the time.

Another early brand to add a new diversity role was quick-service chain Pizza Hut. In August, the Yum Brands subsidiary named Chequan Lewis to the newly created position of chief equity officer.

At the time of the announcement, the company said Lewis would be responsible for “putting in place structures, processes and decision-making that create a more equitable workplace and company for our employees, franchisees, licensees, restaurant teams, customers, and communities we serve.”

Lewis, a graduate of Harvard Law School, served as the senior director of the Pizza Hut Express division after working in legal for the chain.

“I am excited to lead this critical work during this moment in our brand’s and nation’s history,” Lewis said in a statement at the time. “Pizza Hut occupies a unique space in our cultural landscape, and I believe we can help make our world a more vibrant place by chasing equity with intentionality, authenticity, and humility. I look forward to the progress we can make and lives we change as we work hand-in-hand with our franchisees, team members, and community partners towards this vision.”

Just one month after the Black Lives Matter protests began in June 2020, Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International Inc. announced that it would be committing “to ensure at least half of all final-round candidates interviewing for roles with our four RBI offices will be from groups that are demonstrably diverse, including race.”

“A week and a half ago, we stopped and joined together as a team to learn more about ways we could all serve as catalysts for change through ally-ship and advocacy,” RBI’s CEO Jose Cil wrote at the time. “While our charitable foundations do important work with African-American and Black communities in the U.S. and Canada, I will not diminish the fact that we do not have enough racially diverse voices and perspectives in our company and we're going to change that.”