Etsy is getting some new neighbors.
Today, the DIY marketplace announced it’s donating 6,000 square feet of office space at its Dumbo headquarters to Code Nation, a nonprofit that grants students in under-resourced high schools access to skills, experiences and connections needed to build a career in tech. For Etsy, it’s the next step in a formal partnership with Code Nation that began back in 2014. Since then, the company has hired Code Nation students as interns, hosted events and given its engineers the ability to lead on-site coding classes.
“Donating this office space will be really empowering for Code Nation students,” said Etsy’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Elizabeth Spector Louden. “One of the things we say a lot is, ‘People have to see it to be it.’ To foster genuine diversity in the tech industry, you want to look beyond current recruitment goals and help build a pipeline of future talent that’s more diverse and inclusive.”
While the tech industry isn’t exactly known for its diversity, Brooklyn is one of the most diverse places in the country. Forty percent of its 2.6 million residents are foreign-born and more than 200 languages are spoken throughout the borough. Over the last decade, Brooklyn has become the nation’s fastest-growing startup hub, and by establishing a foothold in Dumbo, Code Nation will work to ensure that local, diverse residents benefit from the tech boom.
According to the organization, 76 percent of its students identify as black or Latinx and 44 percent identify as female, transgender or gender non-conforming.
“We plan to leverage Etsy’s location in Dumbo to build bridges between the booming tech industry and the diverse local talent pool that we know exists in Brooklyn’s schools and communities,” said Robert Bonner, Code Nation’s NYC managing director, in a statement.
In addition to announcing the expansion of its partnership with Code Nation, Etsy also released its annual diversity and inclusion report. In early 2019, Etsy set a goal to double the percentage of black and Latinx employees in its workforce. Last year, the company made progress toward that goal, doubling the amount of black and Latinx hires it made over the course of the year.
Spector Louden said the company standardized its hiring program and launched a formal training initiative to mitigate unconscious bias in the interview process, and that a dedicated D&I talent lead was brought on to ensure the organization’s recruiting team integrated the company’s diversity goals into its work.
“We firmly believe that diverse teams are stronger and inclusive cultures are more resilient,” said Spector Louden. “Being an unusually diverse company enables us to make better decisions.”
For 2020, the company will launch a sponsorship program designed to ensure black, Latinx, women and non-binary employees have a pathway to leadership on the company’s tech team. The company also plans to broaden the scope of its D&I programs to include veterans, older workers and those who are disabled.
“Etsy’s progress on diversity didn’t happen overnight,” said Spector Louden. “It’s the result of ongoing efforts and a longstanding commitment that starts at the leadership level.”
