A year ago, Happy Cog shared a public commitment to do better as a company regarding diversity and inclusion. We are publicly sharing an email we sent to all employees so that we can continue to hold ourselves accountable to our commitments and work to build a better future together.
To Happy Cog employees, June 18, 2021:
Hi everyone,
Events of the last few years (and many years prior) exposed the painful realities of systemic racism in our country. It challenged us to learn, step up, and be truly active participants in creating a more equal society for all.
Juneteenth, signed into law as a federal holiday just yesterday, marks 156 years since 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas learned that they were emancipated. Awareness of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre has also increased significantly since its 100th anniversary this past May. Tomorrow, June 19th, Happy Cog joins in commemorating the lives, contributions, and voices of Black people everywhere.
Last year, Happy Cog shared a public commitment to do better as a company regarding diversity and inclusion. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made this past year — especially the changes to our applicant sourcing and recruiting methods as well as our interview feedback and process changes — and are continuing to build a team that represents all backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We’ve also started working with Justworks and our applicant tracking platform, Recruiterbox, to get more insights about our applicant sourcing/interviewing/
We know there’s still a lot more work to do, but we reiterate what we’ve always said before: Happy Cog stands against racism, against hate, and against injustice. Happy Cog stands for diversity, inclusion, compassion, and equality. As a company, we employ people of every color, religion, and sexual orientation, which is invaluable because it helps us bring diverse voices and viewpoints to our work. The more inclusive we are, the greater work we can create together.
Going forward, Happy Cog will recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday and be closed for all employees that day.
Recognizing Juneteenth is just the beginning of the many ways that we will build a truly inclusive culture at Happy Cog that actively and directly addresses disparities and supports our community. We encourage everyone to take some time to honor this holiday by engaging in educational resources (including Ava Duvernay’s 2015 Academy Award-nominated documentary 13th), supporting local black-owned businesses, and taking a moment to connect with, volunteer with, and reach out to your communities. In addition, we will be making another donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which “seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans.”
While none of us have all the solutions, we are passionate about continuing to learn, help more, and do better together. We are also working on more ways to honor this day in the future, including through giving back and partnerships. Please share your ideas, including by reaching out to any Partner directly if you prefer, on what we can be doing in the future.
Sincerely,
Matt, Lee, Stu, and Ben