Diversity, inclusion and belonging is mission-critical, not a nice to have

Yamini Rangan, Chief Executive Officer, HubSpot

 IWD 2021

As countries around the world reach the one-year mark on the coronavirus pandemic, data has started to emerge about its impact on businesses. The headline? Women, especially working mothers, have taken on the burden of caregiving and household management, and are leaving the workforce at a higher rate than men.

Against this backdrop, it’s fitting that this year’s International Women’s Day theme is #ChooseToChallenge. I believe we should all choose to challenge gender bias and inequality and that together we can create a more inclusive society. 

At HubSpot, we view diversity, inclusion, and belonging as mission-critical, not a nice to have. As our Culture Code states, “We aspire to build a company that reflects the diversity of our customers.” Our customers and partners around the world speak countless languages, go by different pronouns, and have unique racial identities. As an organization, we have a responsibility to drive lasting change and help build more equitable communities.

Five years ago, we took a hard look at our diversity and inclusion data. We were not happy with what we saw. Our company wasn’t nearly as diverse as we aspired to be, or as our customers hoped us to be. Ever since, diversity and inclusion has been a top business priority, not just an HR or recruiting priority.

Since 2017, BIPOC employee representation in North America has grown from 12% to 27.4%, and we’ve seen a 6% global increase in women & gender-neutral representation in leadership. The data confirms that we have a lot of work to do on gender diversity, particularly within our tech and sales teams, as well as on age diversity company-wide. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, but we are just getting started and have a lot more work to do.

We also invest in building an inclusive and welcoming culture. HubSpot is home to a number of employee resource groups, including Women@HubSpot, People of Color at HubSpot, Families@HubSpot, and the LGBTQ+ Alliance. In 2020, HubSpot created BLACKhub, a new ERG for Black employees focused on community, growth opportunities, and belonging, and developed an anti-racism training required for all employees. To date, 4,000+ HubSpot employees have taken the anti-racism course. 

We are proud that HubSpot is hosting CX Spotlight, a virtual customer experience conference broadcasting in five languages with a 100% female speaker lineup. With the mission of empowering women’s advancement, we are excited to welcome remarkable female leaders to the virtual stage. 

It’s time to make equality and equity a business priority. This is an exciting time of change, and it is the responsibility of all businesses to step up and lead with the example to forge a new and better future. Together, we #ChooseToChallenge.