PeopleKeep recently held a community discussion on racism, police abuse, injustice, and inclusion.
With this post, we want to share our position and the actions we plan to take in the hopes that by adding our voice and our efforts, we can contribute to moving our country towards a more just and equitable future.
The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman while his fellow officers looked on is not just a senseless act of brutality; it is part of an ingrained pattern of racial intolerance and violence that is older than our country itself. The sorrow, pain, and anger that has followed the recent killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans have compelled us to awareness and action. Racism of every degree clearly still exists in our society today, a fact we find unacceptable.
As we acknowledge these truths, we also recognize that silence is no longer an option if we want to truly reject and end racism. Our country can and must do better; as a company, PeopleKeep can and must do better too.
As a PeopleKeep community, we are committing to several near-term initiatives to foster racial justice and inclusion and to reinforce that Black lives matter. Our three key commitments are as follows:
First, we will participate in a company-wide open forum each quarter to talk about issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity, and review updates on our ongoing efforts. We will focus these discussions on honesty, introspection, learning, and accountability.
Next, for this fall, we plan to collectively choose a non-profit organization that addresses racism, injustice, and/or inclusion and run a matching grant challenge where for every dollar contributed by employees, the company will match with three.
Lastly, we are committing to more inclusive hiring by changing how we source our pipeline of candidates. We must be deliberate and purposeful in using new approaches to ensure a more diverse pool of candidates, especially given our location and industry. This will not simply happen organically; it will take time and effort.
These initiatives are just the beginning. We are committed to developing additional, longer term actions to ensure we don’t allow these injustices to continue. Like our broader community, PeopleKeep is on a journey of greater understanding and a stronger commitment to change.
Our final hope is that this public statement will further energize other companies and individuals in support of the needed social change that George Floyd and others have created at the cost of their lives.