Inclusive and Diverse

Two McDonald's crew members smiling in McDonald's restaurant

From our senior leaders to our restaurant teams, we aim to reflect the diverse communities we are part of and stand up for individuality and equality.

Our commitment and goals

By 2024 we will work with our supplier partners and franchisees to advance social inclusion through a Mutual DE&I Commitment

By 2025 40% of participants in our new corporate placement programme for our restaurant employees will be from underrepresented groups

By 2030 reach and maintain gender balance within our senior leadership roles

By 2030 ensure 40% of all senior leadership roles are held by people from underrepresented groups

Delivering on our commitments

We’re really proud of the McDonald’s family which welcomes everyone. We stand up against prejudice, exclusion and social and economic inequality. We champion individuality and fair treatment in access, opportunity and advancement for all. From our restaurants to our senior leaders, we are committed to reflect the diverse communities we serve and will use our unique position to support people to succeed and grow with us – whatever their background.

Working together with franchisees and suppliers

Our Mutual DE&I Commitment is a shared ambition with our franchisees and supplier partners to build inclusive workplaces that break down barriers to opportunity and support the diverse communities we are part of. Working with our franchisees and Supplier Council we launched two new DE&I playbook resources which share best practice, real experiences and practical steps to help everyone accelerate action in their restaurants and businesses. In 2024 we are hosting new internal training sessions for franchisees to share learnings and build on their successes, and will continue to scale our work through our supplier network.

McDonald's manager and crew members seated in McDonald's restaurant

Creating opportunities for restaurant staff

We're proud that many of our senior leaders and Business Managers began their careers in junior roles within our restaurants. So they know just where a McDonald’s start can take you.

To help us achieve our goal for 40% of all corporate leadership roles to be held by those from underrepresented groups by 2030, we launched our Restaurant to Corporate Bridge programme. The programme gives restaurant employees the opportunity to join McDonald’s corporate offices for a year-long work placement, with the aim of providing them with opportunities to learn valuable and transferable skills to many types of jobs and sectors. The Programme has a new cohort each year and aims to reach potential candidates regardless of education or background through an equitable and values-based application process. 75% of participants in our 2022-23 cohort were from underrepresented groups.

Supporting women and underrepresented groups in leadership

We continue to support female talent by providing opportunities to share, learn and grow their careers through our internal programmes Empowering Female Leaders and our Women’s Network.

We’re proud that as of December 2023, 52% of our senior leadership team were women. We’ve also partnered with Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (WiHTL) to support and encourage our staff to participate in the Women's Global Female Leaders programme (WGFL) and the Women's Non-Executive Director programme (WNED). Between 2022 and 2023 six of our staff graduated WGFL and two graduated WNED.

We have also partnered with WiHTL to sponsor their Ethnic Future Leaders Programme to support retention and development of people from underrepresented groups.

Bringing inclusion to life

As part of our drive to build an inclusive culture we’ve been supporting restaurants with training and resources. In 2023 we made available PRIDE and Disability PRIDE inclusion kits for all UK&I restaurants to inspire their participation in celebrations. We also continued to deliver virtual ‘Creating Belonging’ workshops on a weekly basis and engaged over 550 of our Business Managers in 2023.

Ensuring gender balance

Our goal is that by 2030 we will reach and maintain gender balance within our senior leadership roles by striving for gender parity at all levels of our talent pipeline. At the end of 2023, women made up 48% of our roles and 52% of our senior roles.

Gender pay parity is a vital part of achieving gender balance. In our 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report, our mean gender pay gap was the lowest it has been since we started reporting our gender pay gap data to the Government in 2017. It was three per cent – a decrease of four per cent on the previous year, and we will continue to work hard to close this gap fully. Our median pay gap was zero. Both pay gap figures are significantly below the latest national averages – a national median pay gap of 14.9 per cent and a mean pay gap of 13.9 per cent*.

Find out more in our Gender Pay Report 2022.

The people behind our Plan

"I really love the variety of people you meet. I’ve learned a lot of skills on the job, but I do find communication is the most essential skill. As an Assistant Manager, it’s so important to understand what’s going on in the restaurant or how people feel."

Afsana, Assistant Manager, London

Opening doors to jobs

We aim to help one million people into training, jobs and new opportunities by 2030.

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Graphic highlighting the 5 pillars of McDonald's Plan for Change

Our long-term goals in full

See the details behind our Plan.

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* Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 26 October 2022, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Gender pay gap in the UK: 2022