I’m proud to announce that today, Return Path became one of the inaugural signatories of the Tech Inclusion Pledge, a White House initiative to address the critical issue of inclusion and diversity in the tech workforce. The pledge was announced by the White House today and will be highlighted in President Obama’s keynote address at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University.
As the President has stated, “We’ve got to make sure that everybody is getting a fair shot—the next Steve Jobs might be named Stephanie or Esteban. They might never set foot in Silicon Valley. We’ve got to unleash the full potential of every American—not leave more than half the team on the bench.”
This initiative fits perfectly with our “People First” culture, which has always been an important part of Return Path. We believe that the best way to deliver amazing products to our customers is by creating a culture where every employee is deeply engaged and committed to the business. We aspire to provide a welcoming environment for all employees, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious or political views, age, or socioeconomic status—and this pledge demonstrates our commitment to this core value.
By taking the pledge, Return Path commits to:
- Implementing and publishing company-specific goals to recruit, retain, and advance diverse technology talent;
- Operationalizing concrete measures to create and sustain an inclusive culture;
- Publishing data and progress metrics on the diversity of the technology workforce; and
- Investing in partnerships to build a diverse pipeline of technology talent.
We know that we don’t have all the answers when it comes to diversity—but we’re confident that we are heading in the right direction. We’ve already done some great work through the Returnship program, which has now evolved into Path Forward, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women get back to work after they’ve taken time off for caregiving. By signing this pledge, we now have an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to building a diverse workforce and hold ourselves accountable for our progress.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology and CODE2040 have launched a website where additional companies can join the Tech Inclusion Coalition and find free implementation resources to help meet their commitments. We hope our example will raise awareness in the tech community about the importance of creating an inclusive environment, and we encourage other companies to take the pledge!