Racial injustice in America and Outrider

[Editors Note: The text below was sent to all Outrider employees this morning and posted to the Outrider Blog. This issue demands the attention of everyone, as such, we are sharing our employee communication with everyone.]

Our country – and people in our communities and company – are confronting a challenging time. Millions of people in the United States feel targeted by an unfriendly power structure and worry that their basic rights and safety, and those of their families, are at risk at any time.

I wanted to share some thoughts as we head into a new week about how these events connect to our business — and encourage us to always push our thinking about how our work to build a great business can simultaneously build a better and more just world.

As a company, we categorically condemn bias and prejudice on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. National events remind us all to be explicit about how we put these guiding principles into action:

• Zero-tolerance. Discriminatory behavior will be grounds for immediate dismissal from Outrider. The Outrider work environment will be and should be challenging in many ways — but it should always feel like a safe and invigorating environment in which to thrive.
• Commitment to diversity. Diversity in all of its forms is a pillar of our work culture and hiring practices and yet we have much more work to do to achieve near-term specific objectives to build a workforce that is more than 25% Black and minority by the end of 2021 (as of July 6, we will be at 15% Black and minority) and more than 20% female by the end of 2021 (as of July 6, we will be at 13% female). We need an all-hands effort to significantly increase the proportion of these applicants and candidates to ensure diversity at all stages of the hiring process.
• Commitment to equal pay. We will regularly review compensation across the company to ensure equal pay for equal work.

In addition to these internal policies, Outrider’s external engagement is important in the battle against discrimination. While we will continue to manage investor dollars extremely carefully, we have identified three community organizations to support that target the roots of racial inequality:

• A donation to PCs for People to support access to technology for low-income families.
• A donation to The Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado to support the leadership and professional trajectory of black individuals, businesses, and communities.
• A relationship with the Great Education Colorado Fund to provide mentorship to minority students. We’ll share how you can get involved over the coming weeks.

By engaging with these initiatives, we hope that our team can help to inspire future generations of technology and environmental leaders. If you have suggestions for how the company can take additional action, we welcome your input.

Thank you for all the efforts — small and large — that everyone at Outrider makes to create an amazing community within and outside our walls.