With diversity reports from large tech companies coming out steadily over the last few months, there has recently been a lot of talk in the community about what openness and inclusiveness mean in the workforce. While startups haven’t been a part of the dialogue to date, we thought we would do our part to contribute to what I believe is a very important conversation that all tech companies, large and small, should engage in as leaders.

Our mission at Indiegogo is to democratize access to capital by empowering anyone, anywhere to fund what matters to them. At its core, Indiegogo exists to promote equality of opportunity. And so far, we’re on track to achieve this vision. For example, fewer than 15% of venture-backed companies have a female founder. On Indiegogo, 47% of campaigns that reach their funding target are run by women. Just take a look at JIBO, Solar Roadways, Black Girls Code, Miss Possible and Lesbians Who Tech.

Our commitment to diversity applies both externally and internally. Just as we help campaigners and contributors connect to bring a diversity of ideas from around the world to life, we also strive to recruit and retain employees who bring a collection of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to the day-to-day culture at Indiegogo.

But for a company like Indiegogo—whose goals are to support and amplify all entrepreneurial, creative and community-related endeavors—we don’t just need diversity to innovate and grow, we are absolutely dependent on it to achieve our long-term mission.

The more our workforce reflects the diversity of our global user base, the better we are able to meet the needs of our customers who come to Indiegogo to turn their dreams into realities. As Gandhi once said, we must “be the change we want to see in the world.”

We have more work to do, and by ensuring our recruiting and retention practices are both inclusive and scalable as we grow, we know we’ll get there.

We encourage feedback from our employees, campaign owners and funders about this important topic. Please share any comments with us on Twitter @indiegogo.

Danae Ringelmann

Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer

 

Indiegogo: Gender

Ethnicity

 

8 Responses