San Francisco is one of the most diverse cities in the United States, according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis.
From the bustling streets of Chinatown to the taquerias of the Mission District to the LGBTQ+ safe havens of the Castro neighborhood and beyond, diversity is not only an element of San Francisco’s culture — it’s the driving force.
Diversity, equity and inclusion have played a key role in making the city as vibrant as it is today and have influenced San Francisco’s tech sector, which ranked first in the diversity index for a second consecutive year in 2022, according to CompTIA.
Important DEI work still remains. A 2022 Kapor Center report showed that Black representation across the nation’s tech sector only increased by 1 percent between 2014 and 2021. Moreover, almost half of the Black technologists surveyed said they had experienced racial inequality in hiring, promotion, leadership opportunities, salaries and benefits.
Statistics like these reaffirm the need to prioritize DEI initiatives. For four San Francisco-based companies, DEI goals for 2023 focus on championing team members of all backgrounds and providing avenues to bring diverse perspectives, ideas and experiences to the table.
Reddit is a forum-based platform that connects users to conversations and topics based on their interests.
What’s one meaningful way you’re driving Reddit’s DEI efforts forward this year? What impact do you hope this will have?
This year at Reddit we are focused on expanding our existing employee experiences, programs, and policies that continue to make Reddit one of the most human places to work. This includes helping leaders create inclusive team structures and strategies, adding educational tools and resources to our employees’ diversity, inclusion and belonging toolkits, creating opportunities for peer-to-peer moments and learning, and ensuring fairness and support throughout employee lifecycles.
Our approach will be a bit different than last year, as we will focus on educating not only the larger employee base but also smaller, intact groups. We have made significant investments in an historically Black colleges and universities speaker tour with several Reddit executives, doubling down on our inclusive leadership training program and establishing leadership learning cohorts for our ERGs leads in partnership with Lyra Health and McKinsey Academy. Our goal with this refreshed approach and more focused efforts is to increase employee engagement and help us to create personalized solutions to encourage specific outcomes for each of these groups, as opposed to a blanket approach.
Our approach will be a bit different than last year, as we will focus on educating not only the larger employee base but also smaller, intact groups.”
Why did you decide to make this a priority in 2023?
We decided to focus on engaging with smaller employee groups — in addition to our existing companywide efforts — to achieve the maximum impact of our DIB strategy this year. Large groups are great for checking boxes, but in small groups, people feel more comfortable asking tough questions, can receive more personalized coaching and can operationalize specific strategies that work for their needs and their team’s needs.
What tools, resources and strategies are you leveraging to support these efforts, and why?
We are working with GHTech to participate in an HBCU speaker series along with McKinsey Academy, Lyra Health and Advancing Women Executives to offer specialized leadership training to our ERG members this year. We’ve also created a sequel to our Inclusive People Leader Workshop, which deep dives into common scenario case studies and provides prescriptive, tactical solutions that we are rolling out via small employee group discussions.
We partner closely with our executive team to gather valuable feedback, affirm commitment around these efforts and ensure that we’re mindful of experiential and cognitive diversity within our approach to recruiting. We’re continuing to make significant investments in these areas to not only create meaningful connections but also to ensure that everyone at Reddit plays a key role in maintaining our community and values-based culture where people can be their most authentic selves.
Achieve, formally known as Freedom Financial Network, is a digital personal finance company that connects users to personalize finance and debt reduction solutions.
What’s one meaningful way you’re driving Achieve’s DEI efforts forward this year? What impact do you hope this will have?
This year, one of our key priorities is to continue progressing and advancing our six ERGs. Today our ERGs represent diverse communities including LGBTQ+, veterans, Latinx, Black and African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and women’s leadership. We know ERGs are integral to improving employee engagement and development and help to build a sense of community that elevates belonging. Achieve is committed to DEI to provide a psychological space of trust where every employee feels safe being their authentic selves.
Why did you decide to make this a priority in 2023?
Our employees are why we decided to ensure our ERGs are a 2023 priority! Our DEI initiatives are focused on our employees unlocking their full potential and accepting each person as an individual with different experiences, perspectives and voices. The ERGs offer a place for learning, development and networking, but also a place where teammates can discuss events impacting themselves or their communities or celebrate advancements and milestones.
Our DEI initiatives are focused on our employees unlocking their full potential and accepting each person as an individual with different experiences, perspectives, and voices.”
How are you holding yourself and the leadership team accountable to this goal?
DEI is never the sole responsibility of the DEI leader or team. We are constantly thinking outside of the box to ensure our systems, initiatives and practices are equitable and inclusive. So much of what we do is about getting out to our teams and departments, understanding their challenges and opportunities, and arming them with the tools to advance these efforts within their individual organizations. Uber’s Chief DEI Officer, Bo Young Lee, once said, “DEI needs to be something that every single employee at the company has a stake in.”
Healthtech company endpoint Clinical provides interactive response technology systems and solutions to life sciences professionals.
What’s one meaningful way you’re driving endpoint Clinical’s DEI efforts forward this year? What impact do you hope this will have?
Endpoint has had a very active DEI — and A, for Ally-ship — calendar in place for three years now. We seek to recognize both the small historical moments as well as the larger, monthlong observances that acknowledge and celebrate the struggles, victories and ongoing efforts of diverse groups within and adjacent to our global employee base. Adding to that in 2023, we’re launching a new book club series to encourage endpoint’ers to take their own deeper dives into topics relevant to our DEI&A efforts. Just as our diverse population represents our strength as an organization, so too does our individual curiosity and diversity of thought.
Why did you decide to make this a priority in 2023?
As endpoint continues to grow, I think the DEI&A team sees that the time is right in 2023 to allow for greater personal exploration of what DEI means to each team member, how it binds our widespread teams together and, as mentioned, offer opportunities through our book club series for discussing experiences and making those more immediate for all of us. It’s one thing to say we celebrate Black History Month; it’s another to say, “After reading and discussing that book, I really get it now.” Or “I never saw it that way before.” Or even, “What can I do to be a force for change?”
What tools, resources and strategies are you leveraging to support these efforts, and why?
Beyond our new book club, endpoint Clinical offers scheduled seminars and workshops led by professionals outside the organization on DEI topics. We also encourage team members with their own experiences to share them if they’re comfortable — and that really resonates. The important thing is to keep that door open.
We encourage team members with their own experiences to share them if they’re comfortable — and that really resonates.”
If a group of endpoint’ers wants to start an LGBTQ+ teams channel to have discussions and offer support to each other, that’s important for them to have that space — especially in our fully remote work model. If you’re not sitting with your work friends at lunch to chat, vent and laugh, you need a space that supplants that.
Zumper is an e-commerce real estate platform that removes the hassle from finding and securing apartment rentals.
What’s one meaningful way you’re driving Zumper’s DEI efforts forward this year? What impact do you hope this will have?
Zumper is committed to building a diverse workforce that celebrates unique backgrounds, differences and perspectives while creating a product that is inclusive and accessible to all. We know that together, we’re stronger. To drive Zumper’s DEI efforts forward this year, I am spearheading the “Zumper Gives Back” initiative, allowing our employees to engage in acts of service directly within their communities. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our employees and serving the local communities around us.
Why did you decide to make this a priority in 2023?
We remain committed to fostering diversity and inclusion initiatives within Zumper as well as promoting active civic engagement. Due to Covid-19 precautions and our expanding remote first workforce, we focused our efforts on garnering charitable contributions and engaging in virtual civic activities in the last two years. However, in a recent engagement survey, our employees expressed a strong interest in direct community engagement. Thus, we are pivoting towards providing our employees with more volunteering and other hands-on opportunities to give back for all of our employees across the country.
We remain committed to fostering diversity and inclusion initiatives within Zumper as well as promoting active civic engagement.”
How are you holding yourself and the leadership team accountable to this goal?
As the senior DEI and culture champion, I partner closely with our leadership team as well as our ERGs to execute our 2023 DNI initiatives. The four Zumper ERGs drive much of our employee engagement as well as our DEI efforts. Each ERG has a leadership board and committee, allowing me to partner closely with all ERG leaders and create inclusive strategies. Additionally, many have valuable and longstanding partnerships with nonprofit organizations they’ve supported over the years. We are collaborating with these organizations to provide youth internships, help the housing and food insecure and find ways to amplify marginalized voices.
Last, but certainly not least, are our employees — or “Roomiez,” as we call them! At a recent community service event with the SF Marin Food Bank, I have already witnessed the direct impact of our employees’ passion for serving others. We packed and prepared over 15,000 pounds of non-perishable food to support the local community. Zumper’s volunteerism exemplified the desire of our employees to engage in acts of service and have been the main driver behind shifting this year’s focus to volunteerism.
