Award of Excellence IAC Applications Innovation: Diversity & Inclusion program Introduced: 2017
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n 2017, IAC Applications launched a Diversity & Inclusion program to support a more diverse workplace and foster a more inclusive corporate culture. With six global offices, the company’s talent comes from a variety of backgrounds and its products and services, which are used by people around the world, benefit from the diverse perspectives of all employees. The company’s three Empower employee resource groups (ERGs) represent people of color, LGBTQ, and women in technology. A fourth combined group consists of Diversity Ambassadors, employees committed to supporting diversity topics within IAC Applications offices. These ERGs create a safe space for internal ongoing and open dialogue. They share ideas, plan events, and encourage different perspectives. So far in 2017, the groups have hosted seven employee events, including a reading of Geek Girl Rising, a discussion of LGBTQ issues with the Live Out Loud organization, a screening of the 30
documentary 13th, which explores inequality in the U.S., and several panels that discussed cultural traditions and the state of women in technology. IAC Apps also promotes diversity through its recruiting efforts, partnering with educational institutions like Morgan State University, and organizations such as General Assembly and Dev Bootcamp to ensure that talent is recruited from all backgrounds. IAC Apps also regularly tests new platforms that could help to recruit more diverse talent. Recently, Head of Diversity and Inclusion Netta Gaye was invited to participate, alongside industry leaders Google and FourSquare, in a Crowded Tech Jobs Meetup panel discussion about talent in the technology industry. Internal metrics show that the company is raising the D&I bar. IAC Applications exceeds the national average in the technology industry for percentage of female employees, as well as average salaries for women. Employee feedback also says that IAC Apps’
D&I program is succeeding: “I have never been associated with a company as committed to Diversity and Inclusion as IACA is. The D&I efforts include much more than a diversity recruitment program, although that is certainly an important part of it, because without it we would not have the great diversity that we do—diversity of gender, sexual orientation and identity, ethnicity and race, and age, to name a few. But what makes IACA truly remarkable to me is the “I”—inclusion. There are numerous awareness programs and campaigns—and open communication and conversations via Slack—that continually engage employees in a diversity dialogue, help us all to understand and appreciate each other, and encourage employees to embrace their differences, while finding the common ground that unites us all. As a way-over-40-year-old woman in a young tech company, I’ve never felt so accepted and appreciated. That is true Diversity and Inclusion.” – an IAC Apps employee PDJ