Photo source: Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. 

Fostering inclusivity by finding strength in diversity has, gone beyond being just a catchphrase. For women like Ann Margaret Santiago who has, with intention, turned inclusion into a vocation that she carries out on a day-to-day basis, within and beyond the workplace, inclusivity is a necessity in fostering a culture of empathy and growth.

Santiago is the People Vice President at Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), the local bottling arm of the beverage brand. In this role, she helps foster the company's longstanding People First commitment by looking after the welfare of almost 9,000 associates and their families.

"Inclusion," Santiago points out, "comes in many, many forms." And her career is testament to this, as she has spent decades harnessing the talents of individuals from all walks of life. Santiago's work is a complement to her personal advocacies of mentoring and ministry, where she helps people reaffirm their worth and discover their purpose.

Finding purpose along a not-so-linear path

"I am an accidental Human Resources person," Santiago confided.

She wanted to be a doctor, but her family suffered a tragedy when she graduated. Santiago's father had a stroke, and she did not want to be a financial burden on her family by attending medical school. So, she leaned into her psychology degree and became a recruiter.

"At the beginning, the drive was not really because I wanted to help people. I just wanted to be successful," Santiago admited. However, interacting with people from different backgrounds led her to a turning point. "This was when I started to feel a sense of purpose." She was helping people improve their lives and better themselves, through each of their unique strengths. 

"I found a deeper calling, and it mirrored the sense of purpose that was constant in my relationship with God," Santiago shared.

This cohesion of her purpose and her drive across separate aspects of her life is by careful design. "Regardless of the roles you play at work, at home, in your community, you must be a consistent person, you must be confident in your values, and you have to be certain of what your priorities are."

Creating safe spaces in and outside the workplace

Photo source: Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines 

Whether at work, at home, or in the communities where she mentors, Santiago follows her purpose to influence and uplift. She leads a community of women that helps provide purpose-driven and faith-based support, which has long grown into an expansive fellowship that embraces women from a variety of backgrounds.

At home, Santiago is a supportive wife and partner, and a mother who encourages their children to be their best selves and to create a ripple effect of positive, meaningful change.

At work, she has an integral role in ensuring that CCBPI associates thrive under its People First culture. Since this culture gives equal opportunities and tools to help everyone flourish, associates of all ages, genders, cultures, and backgrounds can better their lives.

"When we create projects at CCBPI and involve our associates, they know they are part of something huge and meaningful," Santiago explains. "This is why we have a strong organization that benefits from the unique capabilities of such a diverse group of people."

Fostering an inclusive, People First workplace through empowerment

CCBPI, Santiago attests, is a workplace that does not set a limit on how women may be their best selves. The company invests in the professional achievements of women associates. Nearly half of CCBPI's plant managers are women, an impressive ratio considering that manufacturing is a traditionally male-dominated sector.

And, from having only 21 women in leadership positions in 2019, CCBPI saw this number rise to 118 as of 2023—Santiago among them. And she is looking to a hopeful future. "This is a good start, and I know we can and will do better."

CCBPI's workplace equity policies mirror parent company Coca-Cola Europacific Partners' organizational action plan, This Is Forward. By 2030, CCEP wants to see at least 45% of management positions (middle management and above) held by women, as well as 10% of its workforce made up of people with disabilities.

Santiago emphasizes that inclusivity is not just a word you throw around as a corporate slogan. It is a culture and an organizational framework that must be put into action. She stresses that crucial to this is the institutionalization of equal opportunity. If you remove unnecessary, exclusionary prerequisites like age, gender, and education level, initiatives may accommodate and benefit as many people as possible.

Santiago cites the company's SMART (Self-Managed, Agile, and Reliable Teams) program, an intensive upskilling initiative, as an example. First conceptualized in 2019, SMART focuses on uplifting Coca-Cola employees tenured for years but have been filling the same, manual labor-based position due to a lack of educational and skills empowerment.

Since the start of the SMART program, over 800 associates have graduated and been deservedly promoted. This, Santiago says, is inclusion as a practical application–a fostering of professional development and a gateway to personal growth.

"You have to expand your perspective, too, if you are serious about inclusion-in-action," she says. CCBPI's other skills projects extend to employees' families. One of the programs that Santiago is personally proud of equips associates' family members with livelihood skills, to assist the company's associates who are sole breadwinners.

She points out that CCBPI's culture of malasakit (compassion) has propelled programs that help support people development initiatives. Its Women Inclusion Network helps provide a safe and empowering space for women associates and their allies to support each other within and outside the Coca-Cola workspace. Panel discussions with women leaders and role models helps address issues specific to women balancing career, vocation, community, and family.

"Our programs at CCBPI are intentional projects, spanning inclusivity, purpose, growth, and teaching. And this intention," Santiago says, "informs the whole design of what I do."

Santiago urges the people she mentors to discover their core principles and to consistently and with integrity lead a life based on these values. Your journey does not have to be a linear one—but, by staying true to your core values and no matter the nature of your journey, she believes that anyone can find their higher purpose—a north star that guides, an intent, and an endeavor and a calling far bigger than one's self.