SHANGHAI, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China", NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today announced that it has been named for the third consecutive year to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which recognizes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women's equality. The 2021 GEI includes 380 companies across 11 sectors representing 44 countries and regions. Yum China is the only company from Mainland China included in the latest GEI.

"To be included in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for the third year in a row is a proud achievement. This reflects our unwavering commitment to creating an environment where all of our employees can succeed, irrespective of gender," said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. "It has never been more critical for companies to promote equal opportunities throughout the workplace and Yum China continues to make impressive progress in this area."

The GEI brings transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly listed companies increasing the breadth of environmental, social, governance (ESG) data available to investors. The GEI measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. Yum China performed particularly well on female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, and sexual harassment policies, scoring above the 2021 GEI average in all these pillars.  Yum China's 2021 overall GEI score was also above the 2021 average overall GEI score.

"The companies included in the 2021 GEI are expanding the ESG data universe to include gender-related data that investors are demanding today," said Peter T. Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg. "Their commitment to disclosure is making the business case for inclusion, and driving transparency in the markets." 

Yum China is firmly committed to fostering a professional, inclusive and discrimination-free workplace for all of the Company's 400,000 employees. By the end of the 2020 fiscal year, Yum China employed over 260,000 women, representing 64% of the Company's total workforce. 54% of Senior Management level positions were held by women, and the Company continues to make great strides in nurturing talented female leaders across all management levels. One initiative in particular, recognized at the inaugural UN Women China WEP (Women's Empowerment Principles) Awards in 2020, is KFC China's "Mom restaurants for little migratory birds", that provides employment for female migrant workers to allow them to be closer to their children. The program has been rolled out in more than 480 KFC restaurants in Hubei, Henan, Chongqing and Hunan provinces in China since its launch in 2019.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "likely," "will," "should," "forecast," "outlook," "look forward to" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations " in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. Yum China also partners with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 10,150 restaurants in over 1,400 cities at the end of September 2020. Yum China ranked # 361 on the Fortune 500 list for 2020. Yum China has been named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure Facilities Industry in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2021, Yum China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2021 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the third consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.

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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Investor Relations Contact: Tel: +86 21 2407 7556, IR@YumChina.com; Media Contact: Tel: +86 21 2407 7510, Media@YumChina.com