It’s been said you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether you believe this or not, it’s worth noting that first impressions do matter. For many, your website is just that. If you’re interested in attracting people who are different from those in your existing networks, a great place to start is your website, as that’s just how many potential candidates might first ‘meet’ you. We’ve listed some examples of websites that took the time to make it clear that they are looking to cultivate a diverse team and are striving for an inclusive culture.
Airbnb
Airbnb has faced racial discrimination issues with its platform, but they aren’t shying away from these troubling concerns. Sometimes it takes a crisis to affect real change and Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO, is committed to making that change. He hired former head of the ACLU’s DC Legislative Office, Laura Murphy, to lead a review and and write a report of every aspect of Airbnb’s platform and company. It’s worth a read. Their commitment to diversity and inclusion is palpable. From their commitment to changing the platform to be more inclusive, to promoting peace through unity with their Black Lives Matter portraits installation, to their sharing of diversity data and showing their affinity groups, they’re working hard to focus on belonging.
Automattic
Automattic is the company that created and maintains WordPress. It doesn’t take much scrolling through their Work With Us page to see how they’re highlighting diversity and inclusion. We like their ‘all jobs require’ section, which focuses on great communication skills, self-driving work ethic and a desire to learn. If you look at any of their job descriptions, you won’t see many minimum numbers of years of experience or a minimum college degree requirement. You won’t see any requirements, actually. They just tell you what the work is that you’ll actually be doing.
Buffer
We often refer to Buffer in our trainings because they’re an excellent example of corporate transparency, which we believe goes a long way toward fostering inclusion. Their corporate blog focuses a lot on diversity and inclusion. They, like many larger tech companies these days, have made their diversity data available to all (no matter how imperfect it may be). They created a salary calculator, so you know how much you’d make if you work at Buffer, and how much everyone else makes. They support families and encourage bringing your whole self to work. And they make this abundantly clear throughout their blog. And while they don’t currently have any job openings, here’s an example of one (thanks Wayback Machine!). Note, again, that they highlight honesty and transparency, throughout the job description.
Google
Google created an abundance of resources on diversity and inclusion, including their diversity data. They recognize that in order to create a diverse workforce and inclusive environment, changes need to be made both at Google and beyond. To this point, they’ve created a website called re:Work which aims to focus on people at work. They’ve worked hard to highlight all the work they’re doing, including having a special section to encourage veterans to apply, looking beyond traditional universities to find talent, working to bridge the digital divide by helping small business owners, commissioning research to address the gender gap in computer science, and so much more.
Hubspot
Scroll just a little bit and Hubspot’s Careers page immediately shows you a guy in a banana suit showing you their first value – Humble. The rest of their values (spelling out HEART) are empathetic, adaptable, remarkable, and transparent. Like so many of the other companies on this list, their Diversity & Inclusion page includes their diversity data. They also highlight their various affinity groups as well as the work they’re doing to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Their job descriptions take care to be inclusive as well, highlighting what the job entails and what you’re responsible for, rather than using the word “requirements”. Even their engineering job didn’t require a certain number of years experience or a degree requirement.
Salesforce
Salesforce’s Marc Benioff has never been shy about his commitment to making the world a better place. Beyond the company’s 1-1-1 model, Salesforce has made headlines recently with their focus on closing the gender pay gap, hired a Chief Equality Officer, and has taken a stand against Georgia’s religious freedom bill. As soon as you land on their Careers and Culture pages, you see a commitment to not only meaningful work, but good people. Their commitment to an equal workforce is shown through their myriad affinity groups, publishing their diversity data, and explaining what they’re doing to make the world a better place.
Do you have some examples of companies that make an effort to show their commitment to diversity and inclusion? Tell us what we missed!
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