At eBay Inc., diversity and inclusion are core values that inform the teams we build and how we do business every day. Fostering an inclusive culture, with equal opportunity for all, is critical to the success of our business. We firmly believe that a diverse workforce leads to increased innovation and enables us to do a better job of connecting with eBay’s hundreds of millions of merchants and customers around the world.
In 2014, we made the commitment to annually publish our global gender diversity and U.S. ethnic diversity workforce data, increasing transparency, partnership and progress around this critical issue.
We are proud of our continued focus on building a diverse, global workforce. This is just the beginning. We know there’s a lot more we must do, but we’re encouraged by the advances we’re making in several key areas.
Since launching our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) in 2011, we’ve seen strong progress in empowering women leaders at eBay, with 29 percent of our leadership positions now held by women. At our WIN Summit this year, we had more than 500 leaders in attendance, and were proud to have had former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as our keynote speaker. This year, American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern and NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Chair Bonnie Hammer joined Sitch Founder and CEO Katie Mitic on eBay’s Board. And we continue to see an increase in the overall number of women holding leadership positions at eBay Inc., with senior appointments this year including Marie Oh Huber and Louise Pentland as general counsels for eBay and PayPal, respectively.
For the sixth consecutive year, we received a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and reaffirmed our commitment to inclusion and equality. eBay Inc.’s President and CEO John Donahoe, together with Dan Schulman, CEO-elect of PayPal and Devin Wenig, CEO-elect of eBay, advocated for LGBT rights and joined more than 70 executives from the country’s leading tech companies in a stand against discriminatory legislation. We were also extremely proud to be recognized by the Anita Borg Institute as a Top Company for Tech Women.
For the second year, eBay Inc. launched a global gender diversity survey with all people mangers and above seeking their perceptions, experiences and feedback on diversity. This data has helped us identify existing gaps and define our roadmap for where we focus our energy. We also leverage third-party research and work in conjunction with leading academic institutions, such as Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford, to develop programs that improve retention, better enable women to develop lasting careers and ensure a diverse slate of candidates as we hire for open roles.
We continue to work with a wide range of organizations that represent diverse talent including Black Planet, Black Women Connect, African American Careers, National Society of Hispanic MBAs and several others to help us attract and hire both top and diverse talent. We are also expanding our veteran and disability outreach in the U.S. through partnerships with HirePurpose and the Veteran Empowerment Organization, which are veteran outreach organizations, and GettingHired and Options Unlimited, which help place people with disabilities into career opportunities.
As a prelude to the separation of eBay and PayPal into two new, independent businesses in the second half of 2015, Devin Wenig and Dan Schulman reaffirmed their commitment to advancing these issues at eBay’s March WIN Summit and have begun to develop their respective diversity strategies. A commitment to diversity and inclusion will remain vital to the success of both companies’ cultures and businesses.
Just below this post, please see an infographic highlighting our latest diversity data.
Footnotes:
1) Due to their upcoming separation, eBay and PayPal do not intend to provide updates until 2016.
2) Leadership defined as director or above
