Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policies at FeedBlitz

George Floyd’s murder in 2020 caused us all here at FeedBlitz to engage in open and sustained conversations about our personal and corporate core values. We realize systemic injustices in the United States have been occurring for the last 400 years. We can’t turn a blind eye. Through investing our individual contributions and business practices, we are dedicated to being part of the solution.

Our DEI policies and action plan are the result of working together to better support those shared values and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion at FeedBlitz.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Pledge

We pledge to support underrepresented and marginalized communities. It doesn’t matter if the playing field is level if half the participants have to run a marathon just to reach the stadium in the first place. It’s not for these underrepresented and marginalized communities to run marathons better; it is our responsibility to move our playing field closer to them so that everyone is treated fairly.

We acknowledge that it is incumbent upon us to be more equitable in ensuring opportunity for all.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

Equity and opportunity are already the backbone of FeedBlitz. FeedBlitz is a United States-based company, females comprise half of its workforce, and the company is founded and led by an immigrant who chose ‘the land of the free’ as home. In order for all of us to be truly free and treated equally, we are committed to embracing diversity, equity and inclusion in order for us to be a part of the solution to contemporary (but long-established) systemic structural societal inequity.

We believe that by applying diverse, equitable and inclusive policies and standing by our pledge, FeedBlitz will become a better company—for our clients, for our employees, and for our investors.

We are dedicated to making FeedBlitz a better place to work for, a better company to work with, and a more profitable enterprise. These outcomes will be a direct result of our being a more socially responsible, and a more socially intentional, organization.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Values

We are committed to both providing and seeking equitable opportunities for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), females, LGBTQ+ and people with different abilities. We will create and execute policies and standards such that the business supports underrepresented and marginalized groups for whom systemic and institutional obstacles have limited their participation in society, in business, and in tech. We are committed to being anti-racists, where we speak and act in ways to advance racial equity and act against ways that perpetuate racial disparities. Our policies and action plan will hold us accountable in being (but not limited to) anti-racist, anti-misogynistic, anti-homophobic and anti-ableist.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan

We will intentionally build and support diverse networks for vendor diversity, talent management and hiring, product and service selection and community engagement and accessibility to ensure fair and equitable opportunity for business.

This action plan defines aspirational and measurable goals - we know that we are not yet where we need, want to, and must be. We will hold ourselves accountable to this plan and ensure that we are moving forward with it.

Belonging and Participation

• We have never, and will not ever, tolerate any language, behavior or action which is discriminatory, hateful or disrespectful towards another colleague, client or stakeholder.
• Starting immediately, we uphold inclusivity by ensuring all employees and contractors are heard, and are engaged in, our decision making processes.
• Starting immediately, permanent and contract employee candidate selection processes will include underrepresented and marginalized communities by intentionally expending our candidate pools.

Accessibility

• The FeedBlitz website and app will exemplify inclusive language.
• The FeedBlitz website and app will move to improve, embrace and implement established industry accessibility standards.
• FeedBlitz will improve customer service accessibility by providing alternative ways for differently abled visitors to access our educational, support and customer service resources.
• To support these goals, FeedBlitz will hire the appropriate external resources in 2021 to guide and accelerate our progress towards these objectives, including the establishment of relevant metrics and processes to ensure we continue to improve and operationalize accessibility.

Inclusivity

• Starting immediately, the vendor and purchaser contracts we sign, must exemplify inclusive language and meaningful commitments towards DEI from the counterparty that match the ideals we articulate and pledge to here.
• Starting immediately, we will intentionally expand vendor selection to include underrepresented communities.
• Our long-term goal is for FeedBlitz’s business expenditures and relationships to align with the diversity of the country in which we operate. We will measure our progress quarterly.

Community Engagement

• Starting in the Summer of 2021, FeedBlitz will financially support an underrepresented community-focused STEM-organization through scholarship, sponsorship, or financial donation.
• Starting immediately, FeedBlitz will provide at least one sponsorship to an underrepresented person for all events of 50 or more attendees that FeedBlitz attends, speaks at, exhibits or sponsors.
• Starting immediately, events FeedBlitz hosts will ensure diverse audience representation by the use of scholarships, discounts or other approaches where necessary to eliminate financial barriers and encourage attendance from underrepresented groups.

Equity and Representation

• Starting immediately, speakers of the same role at events we host or attend must be compensated equally, regardless of ethnicity, gender or other intrinsic characteristic.
• Starting immediately, panels at industry events with which FeedBlitz is involved need to be as diverse as the communities they reach, and also the communities they are held in.
• Starting immediately, FeedBlitz will engage with event organizers to encourage greater diversity and, where necessary, change our participation.

DEI is a Mindset, Not a One-Off

We will review and update these policies as we continue to learn. Furthermore, as our society changes and the business environment evolves, we will adapt our policies to reflect those changes. We encourage our community, clients and stakeholders to hold us accountable to these goals as we move forward.

March 16, 2021.