DEI is more than a department. It’s at the heart of commercetools.
At commercetools, we’re proud of our diverse, fair and inclusive workplace, with DEI initiatives that reflect who we are and where we want to be.
While Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) have been a welcome addition to our corporate lives to spur positive change, don’t you sometimes feel like companies are jumping onto the DEI bandwagon for feel-good headlines? Or to comply with customers’ and investors’ demands?
Indeed, not every DEI program is created equal!
At commercetools, our DEI journey started differently: From our humble beginnings in Munich, Germany, we built an international team early on and anchored diversity as our number one core value. Today, commercetoolers are a proud mix of 50+ nationalities — and growing!
Mere workforce diversity is not enough, though. That’s why we formalized a DEI team to foster a fair and inclusive workplace and keep it in check. For us, the DEI team is a stepping-stone to guard the values that got us this far. Of course, we must also respond to customers’ and investors’ DEI demands. Still, the difference is that DEI is a pillar of our philosophy as a business because it grew organically and not only because customers and investors demanded it.
At commercetools, we’ve created an open and safe environment where everyone feels welcome by paying attention to even the smallest details. For example, we use gender-balanced language in our job descriptions by utilizing an optimization tool. We have also implemented psychological safety practices. An inclusive bot installed on Slack helps us use more inclusive language when engaging with each other; with the power of AI, the bot flags potentially non-inclusive or toxic words or expressions and offers alternatives. We also promote internal events to celebrate special occasions, such as Juneteenth and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, spurring awareness and discussion about topics that affect us all.
When it comes to working together with communities, we blend bottom-up and top-down initiatives. Our employee-led Engage the Change activates our US-based workforce to contribute to projects focusing on social justice, Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+, combating inequality with a mix of donations and volunteering. We also proudly sponsor worthy causes such as the Durham Pride Parade and The Trevor Project, the world’s most significant suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, to name a few.
With the hyper-growth experienced at commercetools, our universe of origins, skin colors, faiths, and walks of life will expand further. Our DEI initiatives in the US and worldwide focus on keeping our company a great place to work while giving back to our local communities. And we’re just getting started!
Are you looking for a career boost where you can also be an active voice of positive change? Become a commercetooler!
The Featured Blog Posts series will highlight posts from partners and members of the All Things Open community leading up to the conference in the fall.