Xero’s commitment to diversity in the workplace globally recognised

We’ve hit a fantastic milestone in our diversity and inclusion journey! I’m so pleased to announce that Xero is one of 325 companies across 50 industries included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). 

The GEI tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency. The reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand.

At Xero, gender diversity is a huge priority for us, so we’re thrilled that our commitment to supporting diversity in the workplace has been globally recognised.

We’re proud of our gender diversity stats. At 1 January 2020:

• The Xero Board was 43 percent female
• Our leadership team was 42 percent female
• 43 percent of our employees were female

Under the guidance of our joint Heads of Diversity and Inclusion, we’re committed to flying the gender equality flag and continuing to remove roadblocks to gender equality in all aspects of Xero.

We are invested in getting more women into the tech sector through a number of initiatives including sponsoring and supporting events and coding camps for girls and women in tech; internship programmes; and championing the development of STEM careers through various programmes.

But we also know that championing diversity is much more than achieving gender balance. We strive to create a culture of belonging, where differences not only exist but where they are respected, supported and fully celebrated.

And that’s why we’re committed to acknowledging, respecting and celebrating all the ways our people are different – including, but not limited to, gender identity, sexuality, disability, ethnicity, culture and nationality.

We know diversity is important, but it is through inclusion that we really tap into the potential and power of our differences. Inclusion means all our employees have a sense of belonging and fairness, feel valued and respected, and can play their part in creating business success.

Some examples of the ways we create and encourage a diverse and inclusive work environment include promoting flexible working; delivering training on diversity, inclusion and bias awareness; running awareness events on mental health and wellbeing; offering employees the opportunity to purchase additional annual leave; redefining sick leave as ‘wellbeing leave’; initiatives to promote LGBTI inclusion, becoming a member of the Australian Network on Disability; and signing up to the Government’s Disability Confident Scheme in the United Kingdom.

You can learn more about how Xero is supporting diversity and inclusion at xero.com/socialimpact

Here’s to continuing on this journey in 2020 and beyond!