可口可樂：支持女性能提高公司利潤

????為什么企業要幫助發展中國家的女性？可口可樂（Coca-Cola）自有一番道理，但可別指望慈善為懷那一套。

????兩年前，這家碳酸飲料巨頭宣布了一項宏偉的目標：到2020年要讓500萬貧困女性獲得穩定的收入。同時，該公司還計劃在2020年前為100多個國家的女性提供培訓。

????領導這項計劃的是夏洛特?歐迪斯，可口可樂提升女性經濟能力全球總監——這是她真實的職位名稱，但歐迪斯并不是一名不切實際的慈善家。她曾經是可口可樂英國業務的負責人，也曾擔任過歐洲傳訊負責人。她的主要工作是幫助可口可樂邁向另一個遠大的目標：到2020年將收入翻番?？煽诳蓸返倪壿嬍?，投資于女性能夠提升一個地區的經濟，同時相應增加當地的購買力，這是一條已經得到實踐驗證的途徑。

????“沒有可持續的社區，就不可能做好生意，”歐迪斯說?？煽诳蓸返呐嘤栍媱澃ㄔ谟《鹊穆眯锌照{大巴Parivartan中提供研討會，女性在家門口就有機會參加培訓。該公司也在巴西提供金融研討會，在南非為店主提供太陽能板，以便延長營業時間，保持飲料冰爽。歐迪斯表示，她希望將重點放在幫助女性獲得穩定收入上能夠比傳統的慈善活動取得更長久的影響。她說：“歸根結底，如果單純只是給錢，是無法持久的?！?/p>

????10月初，歐迪斯參加了在加州拉古那尼克舉辦的《財富》雜志（Fortune）最具影響力女性峰會，與《財富》雜志高級特約編輯妮娜?伊斯頓和女權活動家愛麗斯?納爾遜進行了探討。 在會上，這兩位女性都認為，公司為女性提供支持是有現實的理由。首先，有充足的證據證明社區得益于女性的成功。麻省理工學院（MIT）經濟學家埃斯特?達弗羅的研究表明，如果女性賺了錢，她們相比男性更可能把錢花在食物上，而男性更喜歡用在吸煙喝酒上。女性將90%的收入投入家庭，而男性僅為30%至40%。

????這一數據也適用于更廣泛的領域。世界銀行（The World Bank）指出，消除對女性工作者的歧視將使得一些國家的生產率提高25%。高盛（Goldman Sachs）的一份報告估計如果在勞動場所對女性一視同仁，將使美國GDP增長9%。研究人員估計在馬耳他等國家，在勞動市場實現性別平等將使GDP增長高達40%。

????拉里?薩默斯（算不上知名的女權主義者）在擔任世界銀行首席經濟學家時說過：“投資女孩教育很可能是發展中世界回報率最高的投資?！?/p>

????但可口可樂也應當進行這樣的投資嗎？在有些圈子里，企業社會責任(CSR)正在受到抨擊，往好了說是公關策略，往壞了說是對政府行動的擾亂或阻礙。即便如此，要求企業承擔更多社會責任的呼聲越來越高。隨著全球經濟增長的聯系進一步緊密，企業在海外的影響甚至堪比外交官。與此同時，對政府機構的信賴卻出現了下降。

????可口可樂在實施這項支持女性的計劃時較為謹慎。該公司于兩年前啟動了這一計劃，預計到2012年底將幫助約30.5萬名女性實現經濟獨立——基本與目標保持一致。計劃最初在4個國家推出，如今已擴展到12個國家。這是個很大的進步，特別是考慮到歐迪斯的下屬只有兩個人，外加她的助理。但是，可口可樂如果要實現100多個國家和500萬女性的宏偉目標，仍有很長的路要走。

????初看上去，可口可樂的初期投資似乎不大。該公司拒絕透露在這項計劃上付出了多少。但歐迪斯表示，只有兩名下屬（沒有設立單獨的部門），它本身就是一項資產。該項目獲得了包括可口可樂首席執行官穆泰康在內的高管支持，他經常在公開場合宣傳這一項目。歐迪斯在談到這一使命時說：“除非把這個觀點深深地刻在（高管）腦海里，否則真的難以實現?！?/p>

????Why should businesses help women in developing countries? Coca-Cola (KO) thinks it has a few good reasons, but don't expect anything too syrupy sweet.

????Two years ago, the soda conglomerate announced a big goal -- get 5 million underprivileged women a stable income by the year 2020. It has plans to train women in more than 100 countries by the end of the decade.

????Leading the charge is Charlotte Oades, the company's global director for women's economic empowerment -- that's her real title, but Oades isn't just a do-gooder. She was previously head of Coke's Great Britain business and was the communications chief for Europe. Her main job is to help Coke work toward another big goal, doubling its revenue by 2020. The company's logic is that investments in women are a proven way of boosting a region's economy and, in turn, increasing its buying power.

????"Unless you have a sustainable community, you can't have a business," Oades says. Coke's training programs include workshops in the "Parivartan," a traveling air-conditioned bus in India that can reach women in different areas without making them travel to attend. The company also does financial workshops in Brazil and provides solar paneling to store owners in South Africa who are looking to stay open longer and keep beverages cool. Oades says she hopes that the focus on giving women a shot at earning a stable income will have a longer lasting impact than traditional philanthropy. "At the end of the day, if you're just writing a check, that's not sustainable," she says.

????Oades spoke with Fortune senior editor-at-large Nina Easton and women's rights activist Alyse Nelson at Fortune's Most Powerful Women summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif. in early October. There, both women argued that there's a practical reason for companies to support women. For starters, there's ample evidence that communities benefit from women's success. When women earn money, they're more likely than men to spend it on food, while men are more likely to spend it on alcohol and tobacco, according to research by MIT economist Esther Duflo. Women will reinvest 90% of their income into the family, versus 30% to 40% for men.

????The data also apply on a broader scale. The World Bank has said that ending discrimination against female workers would increase productivity by 25% in some countries. A Goldman Sachs report estimated that equal female representation in the workplace would boost GDP by 9% in the United States. In countries such as Malta, researchers have estimated the GDP gains from gender equality in the labor market could be as high as 40%.

????Larry Summers (not exactly a noted feminist) put it this way when he was chief economist at the World Bank: "Investment in girls' education may well be the highest-return investment available in the developing world."

????But should Coke be the one making that investment? Corporate social responsibility has come under fire in some circles for being a PR tactic at best and, at worst, a distraction or deterrent from government action. Increasingly, though, there has been a call for companies to do more. As the world's economies grow more interconnected, corporations overseas can have as great an influence as diplomats. At the same time, faith in public institutions has ebbed.

????Coke has taken a careful approach with its campaign for women. It started the initiative two years ago, and expects to have helped some 305,000 women become economically independent by the end of 2012 – about on track with its target. The program first launched in four countries, and is in 12 today. That's big progress especially considering Oades's staff consists of only two other people, plus her assistant. However, there's still a long way to go to get to the more than 100 countries and 5 million women it hopes to reach.

????At first blush, it seems like Coke's initial investment is modest. The company declined to say how much it has spent on the effort. But Oades says that having just two staffers, rather than her own division, has been an asset. The project has support from senior executives, including CEO Muhtar Kent, who often gives it lip service in public appearances. "Unless you embed it [within the senior ranks]," Oades says of the mission, "it doesn't really get done."