11 Insight Venture Partners’ Portfolio Companies Join the Inaugural Group of Companies Signing Up for the White House Tech Inclusion Pledge
NEW YORK/PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, at the seventh annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley, President Obama celebrated American entrepreneurship and announced the expansion of a diversity pledge in the technology industry, emphasizing the importance of employee inclusion to American economic growth and innovation. Eight of Insight Venture Partners' portfolio companies became inaugural members of the 33 initial signatories. Companies committing to the Pledge include BrightBytes, Conga, DataSift, DrillingInfo, ezCater, Gainsight, Illuminate Education, SkyTap, Turnitin, Unitrends, and Virgin Pulse.
As primary signatories to the Tech Inclusion Pledge, these companies pledge to:
- Implement and publish company-specific goals to recruit, retain, and advance diverse technology talent, and operationalize concrete measures to create and sustain an inclusive culture;
- Annually publish data and progress metrics on the diversity of their technology workforce across functional areas and seniority levels;
- Invest in partnerships to build a diverse pipeline of technology talent to increase their ability to recognize, develop and support talent from all backgrounds.
The commitments of these companies build upon the collective efforts that began at the first White House Demo Day in 2015. At that time, Insight and 40 other venture capital firms signed a letter outlining commitments to foster inclusion and improve diversity in venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
"We are proud that our portfolio companies see the economic value of ensuring an inclusive workforce and are adopting human resource policies that create work environments that foster respect and dignity for all, " said Hilary Gosher, Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners. "Insight strongly believes that we, and the companies we invest in, should seek to benefit from the full talent pool of the American workforce."
Allen Gilmer, chief executive officer of Drillinginfo, one of the first companies to sign up commented: "Drillinginfo cares deeply about ensuring we create a company that embraces diversity, not only because we believe in equal treatment and opportunity for all, but because the business and competitiveness advantages are clear."
The National Center for Women & Information Technology and CODE2040 have launched a website where additional companies can join the Tech Inclusion Coalition and find implementation resources to help meet their commitments. Additionally, the White House plans to convene a meeting of the Tech Inclusion Coalition in the coming months to work through long term implementation strategies.
About Insight Venture Partners
Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than$13 billion and invested in more than 250 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. For more information on Insight and all of its investments, visit https://www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter: @insightpartners.
