In the weeks to follow, we took steps to better understand how to approach racial equity work from the team. While we prioritized space for healing for our Black teammates, we were grateful to them for sharing their voices, concerns, and ideas. We also welcomed a representative from Afrolytics.js, our Black Employee Resource Group, to join our DEI Task Force.
Emotions understandably ran high during this difficult period (and we know that for many, they still do today). Thanks to the resilience and integrity of our team, we walked away from these conversations with a renewed commitment to DEI and, more specifically, racial equity.
Fast forward to today, we want to recognize the countless teammates who are mobilizing around DEI. We particularly want to recognize our teammates from underrepresented groups. We know this is emotionally heavy work and we cannot express how grateful we are for your leadership and commitment. While we know that there is much work to be done, we are humbled to be doing it with you all.
Below are the actions we have taken so far around DEI and racial equity this year.
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We made Juneteenth a company holiday.
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We made Election Day a company holiday (and encouraged everyone to vote).
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We hosted several Anti-Racism Open Forums to better understand our responsibility as allies and advocates.
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We supported the signing of legislation AB 979, which requires California publicly held corporations to meet new requirements to ensure that there is representation from minority groups at the director level.
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We collectively donated $10,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and to rebuild Black businesses in Oakland.
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We established a partnership with New Door Ventures to support transition-age youth in the Bay Area through educational and career development programs.
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We rolled out inclusive leadership programming to Segment managers.
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We implemented an Onsite Approval Email policy, inspired by the Rooney Rule, to establish accountability measures for hiring teams to ensure that we are sourcing from underrepresented communities for all manager-level positions.
Lastly, we are proud to share our new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion website, where you can learn more about our company-wide objectives and how DEI shows up at Segment.
Of course, this doesn’t stop here. We know that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we intend to make DEI a growing part of our culture and identity. We must, if we want to work towards our shared vision of a company that is diverse and makes everyone feel that they belong.
Thank you again to our amazing team and community for being on this journey with us. We look forward to sharing more progress about this in the future!