Diversity and inclusion at Xero

Our policy and principles

Xero actively supports diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We recognise that a diverse workforce is a strength that enables businesses, including ours, to better understand and serve customers, attract top talent and innovate successfully. Our approach to diversity and inclusion is summed up in our key principles:

• We value diversity because it reflects and serves our customers and ensures our people thrive.

• We’re all accountable to create an inclusive culture.

• We’re committed to attracting diverse talent and hiring fairly.

• We support flexible ways of working.

• We’re committed to equal pay for equal work. 

• We have an obligation to champion diversity and inclusion in the community.

Our global diversity and inclusion program is led by joint Heads of Diversity and Inclusion. 

We report annually on our progress against the measurable objectives for diversity approved by the Xero Board. For information about our progress against our FY20 objectives, see our most recent annual report here.

Read more
Xero’s diversity and inclusion policy
Xero’s inside-out culture
Be the change you want to see in your business

Creating an inclusive work environment

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 Xeros 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 an inclusive work environment include:

• promoting flexible working options and achieving a highly commended recognition in the Diversity Works work/life balance category in New Zealand

• offering training on topics supporting diversity and inclusion at Xero such as  unconscious bias and LGBTQI+ and mental health awareness, and we recently launched an online learning program to build understanding of different worldviews and religions

• running regular surveys to capture feedback on the extent to which employees feel that Xero is an inclusive workplace and are satisfied with flexible working arrangements at Xero

• delivering a range of wellbeing activities including mental health training, resilience workshops, mindfulness programs and initiatives to promote physical health and financial wellbeing

• encouraging open discussion of mental health and wellbeing, including through delivering events for World Mental Health Day - and we’re proud that Craig Hudson, Xero’s Managing Director New Zealand & Pacific Islands, won the DiversityWorks NZ 2019 Walk the Talk Award for “stepping up as a leader to talk about his personal experience with mental health and creating a workplace culture of sharing and psychological safety” (as well as  launching the Xero Assistance Program that “also widened his impact from the team to customers”)

• expanding our definition of sick leave and positioning it as ‘Wellbeing Leave’ to encourage our people to look after their overall health and wellbeing

• introducing ‘Lifestyle Leave’ as a way for our employees to purchase additional leave and spread the cost of this across a six or 12 month period

• developing an internal ‘Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country’ guide to support Indigenous awareness in Australia

• celebrating our cultural diversity through various initiatives including shared cultural celebrations and lunches, NAIDOC week activities in Australia, Māori language week activities and Māori language courses in New Zealand

• having ‘welcome messages’ displayed in the Xero offices in Auckland and Wellington rotate through the 50+ languages spoken by Xero employees

• supporting our diversity and inclusion ‘champions’ to develop locally meaningful initiatives for the regions in which they work

We are also proud to be a member of Diversity Council of Australia and DiversityWorks NZ.

Read more
Standing up for mental health
The small things that make a BIG impact on inclusion
Pause for a mental health check
Supporting our staff’s wellbeing on World Mental Health Day
Mental health at work
Tech Outreach in Action
Names Matter

Gender diversity at Xero

At Xero, focusing on gender diversity has always been a priority for us as we’re keen to get more women into the tech sector, ensure we have good female representation across our management levels, and remove any roadblocks to gender equality in all aspects of life at Xero. We know this drives better business outcomes not only for Xero but for our small business partners and customers.

The following stats show the representation of women on the Xero board, leadership team and across all employees as at 31 March 2020:

• Xero Board – 43% female

• Xero leadership team – 42% female

• Xero employees – 42% female

We are proud to be included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which recognises our commitment to gender equality and fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace.   

We regularly track our diversity data for internal monitoring and accountability. As part of this work, we conduct an annual organisation-wide pay equity review at Xero and communicate results to employees. We won the ‘On the Journey’ award in the 2019 YWCA Equal Pay Awards (NZ) for our work around pay transparency and gender pay equity.

We also think it’s important to shine a spotlight on and celebrate our female Xero customers and partners who are shaping the world of small business across the globe. This was a focus of our #pressforprogress campaign for International Women’s Day 2018 – watch our video.

Read more
Xero's commitment to diversity in the workplace globally recognised
Fostering a culture of inclusivity and equality at Xero
How our Xero Americas offices celebrated #EachforEqual this International Women’s Day
IWD: What does a gender equal workplace mean to us? Part 1 and Part 2

Encouraging women into technology

We are committed to getting more women into the tech sector through a number of initiatives including:

• sponsorship and support of Code Like a Girl’s events, coding camps and internship programs

• hosting or sponsoring many events for girls and women in tech including Tech Girls Movement, GirlBoss New Zealand, Spirit and Soul, She Loves Data, Ladies That UX, WomenHack, Tech Leading Ladies, Women's Tech Network (Canberra) and Finding Ada and piloting a one-week ‘Girl Code’ workshop in Auckland in January 2020.

• championing the development of STEM careers through initiatives including Xero’s graduate and intern programs 

• shining a spotlight on the importance of gender equality through International Women’s Day, running local events across our offices 
• supporting the launch of a Women of Xero (WOX) network group in Australia to host regular education and discussion events in support of  gender equality and diversity at Xero.

Read more
Code Like A Girl - Changing the face of technology in Australia
Techweek NZ: Our events in Hawke's Bay
Celebrating #BalanceforBetter with small business and tech leaders on International Women’s Day
Keeping the balance Kiwi style
Balance for better and what it means to us
Challenging expectations is the true meaning of International Women’s Day
Balance and belonging on IWD2019
Collaborating to create #balanceforbetter

Hiring for diversity

We use diverse channels to hire staff, including:

• listing jobs on sites like Work180, VERCIDA and HIRED that promote diversity in hiring
• piloting an internship with Specialisterne, an organisation which supports employment of people on the autism spectrum
• hiring through non traditional pathways including the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Australia and the New Zealand Red Cross’s Pathways to Employment programme
• participating in the TupuToa internship programme in New Zealand

We're proud to be a member of the Australian Network on Disability (AND) and we participated in AND's PACE mentoring program in 2019. We're also proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer in the United Kingdom.

Read more
Diversity and inclusion in tech – how can we do better
Creating new opportunities

Learn more
Check out the Xero careers page for more information about working at Xero.

Increasing LGBTQI+ inclusion and awareness

At Xero, we want to create a culture of belonging, where differences not only exist but where they are respected, supported and fully celebrated. It’s about ensuring our people can be their authentic self, and flourish in an environment where they feel accepted and know they belong. LGBTQI+ awareness and support is an important part of creating an inclusive culture at Xero.

We undertake a number of initiatives to promote LGBTQI+ awareness at Xero:

• Xero is a member of Pride in Diversity in Australia and Stonewall in the United Kingdom.

• Xero has achieved the Rainbow Tick in New Zealand in recognition of our inclusive workplace.

• We provide LGBTQI+ awareness and education across some of our offices.

• We provide options in our internal IT systems for employees to self-identify as non-binary or gender diverse and to indicate their pronouns.

• Xero supports employee participation in local Pride parades under the Xero banner.

Read more
This Pride Month, we’re celebrating diversity
Celebrating PRIDE across Americas
Building the next generation of accounting with Pride
Celebrating diversity at Xero
Xero NZ awarded the Rainbow Tick