Upstatement designs and creates work for all kinds of different users. To be successful as a business, we need to have all kinds of different people working with us. Having a diverse team means you’ll get more ideas, perspectives and influences. This is the currency of great work — and it’s our great work that drives the business.
Diversity is most evidently about identities like race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation. Diversity is just one aspect of our efforts. Equity and inclusion require on-going efforts to uphold and realize our values through lived experience and the daily choices our company makes. We keep these values in the forefront of our minds as we staff projects, hire new members, and create advancement opportunities.
We have formal hiring processes to reduce bias and improve our pipeline among underrepresented groups. While we’re always striving to be better, we’ve made progress towards greater racial, gender, and other representation factors.
Partners
Diversity isn’t just about who’s on teams within Upstatement. We’re using this as a moment to think about the clients and partners we work with. That’s why we recently launched a Pro Bono Program to provide services to underrepresented entrepreneurs and founders. Through this program we’ve partnered with groups like Black Tech Pipeline, Canopy, and others to create brand materials or provide product consulting services.
We frequently work with specialized contractors and vendors for things like photography, illustration, and data visualization. Over the last year, we’ve expanded our lists and recommendations to ensure they represent people and groups from a variety of backgrounds.
Community
For years we’ve volunteered, donated, and collaborated with local public and charter schools through educational programs. We’ve maintained the portions we could during the pandemic and are planning new programs and partnerships ahead.
We’re proud of the connections we’ve built to expand and open the Upstatement community. We invite you to contribute to our culture of diversity and inclusion. If you’re an organization that helps underrepresented groups with design and technology, please introduce yourself. We’d love to sponsor, participate in, or host your next event. If you’re a job seeker who can broaden our view, apply to join our team.
To succeed, these efforts have to be continuous. This isn’t a checkbox we can tackle over the course of a fiscal quarter. We’re always working to improve, and we hope 2021 brings even more positive change to share.
