Gen Wins Recognition for Its Commitment to Inclusion
Making progress on our diversity strategy
Inclusion isn’t just a box to check off. For me, inclusion is a central point of focus every day, and my team continues to work on blending it into everything we do at Gen. Inclusion is (and should always be) woven into our culture. And though we’re a global company, it doesn’t just come naturally. We still work at it. Strategize around it, purposefully.
Our four-pillar DEI strategy is at the heart of our mission. These include:
- Measurement and accountability
- Fostering an inclusive environment
- Diversifying our workforce
- Development and retention
These efforts drive our mission to attract, retain and develop talent by providing meaningful opportunities within our diverse teams. So far, we’ve found success in more inclusive and diverse teams – success in innovation, creativity and, more importantly, wellness (wellness being physical, emotional and financial).
Fiscal Year 2023 ended on a good note. But we’ve still got work to do. Here is how Gen netted out in FY23:
- 30% Of our leadership team are women
- 32% Of our global team members are women
- 15% Of our team members identified as underrepresented minorities
- 6% Of our U.S. team were Black
I’m glad to say that our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed — Newsweek recently recognized Gen as
- One of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women
- And one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity
That’s something we appreciate and celebrate.
As we continue to grow and build #TeamGen, we’ll continue to evolve our representation strategy, too (I look forward to sharing more on that). Below I’ll dig into a couple of things happening internally and externally, how we’re fostering a culture of belonging and why I think Gen is truly a great workplace.
Sharing Common Differences: Internal Workings
Our employee resource groups – which we call “Communities@Gen” – help us bring our global team members and allies together for events and initiatives, learning journeys, mentoring, volunteering opportunities and more. It’s a way for us to feel close to each other, even when we’re far. Share commonalities and differences with people who are like ourselves and those who are eager to learn. It’s how we make new friends. Introduce cultural understanding. How we have fun. It’s a chance for us to be ourselves (which can be a breath of fresh air in the corporate world).
Beginning in FY24, each community receives a dedicated budget from our Giving@Gen program to donate to an eligible cause of their choice. Communities also partner with Giving@Gen throughout the year to offer volunteering and giving opportunities for all employees, such as raising funds for organizations like SAATHI, Outhouse, Sapling and many, many more.
Amplifying Our Impact: External Efforts
We work with several high-impact nonprofits to accelerate our inclusion work. With our nonprofit partner, Disability:IN, Gen held an all-company event during World Autism Month, highlighting the challenges of sensory overload for neurodiverse individuals and helped people understand how they can better support themselves or team members who may have a disability.
As part of our efforts to build a pipeline of diverse talent, Gen continues to partner with programs that empower women in tech. Czechitas, based in the Czech Republic, operates a diverse range of programs to help train and upskill professional women looking to enter tech careers. The nonprofit also helps connect its graduates to partner companies hiring in the IT field. In 2023, our partnership supported eight events, including Czechitas’ Digital Academies, educating more than 227 people.
Women4Cyber seeks to close the gender gap in cybersecurity through awareness and mentoring programs for women. Our contribution of $150,000 per year for three years will add content to Women4Cyber’s Academy, offer mentorships with Gen employees and contribute to the expansion of new chapters.
We also collaborate with nonprofits to provide Cyber Safety resources to higher-risk and diverse communities. As an example, Gen partners with The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. Together we created the Guide to Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People. This free digital resource helps queer youth navigate the digital world.
As a global brand providing safety for the first digital generation, we get how incorporating diverse voices gets us further, faster. And I'm personally excited to lead the charge on the DE&I front and see how Gen continues to grow in the coming years.
