Earlier this summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Synapse made a statement to call for change and affirm that Black Lives Matter. We are following up now to share concrete actions we will take as a company to further improve ourselves and to help address systemic racism in our society.

At Synapse, we believe strongly that a diverse community with a collaborative, supportive, inclusive culture enables people to flourish. 

Recent events have laid bare the lack of these elements in our society. We need change. Synapse stands with our employees, partners, and community against racism, injustice, and inequity.

Synapse will be a force for positive, systemic change by taking actions to further increase the diversity, equity, and inclusion of our work community, as well as championing and celebrating this work and its benefits.

Our committment includes:

• Continuing the work we’re doing to:

  • Establish annual strategic initiatives regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, and take actionable steps to achieve them

  • Hold annual Diversity & Inclusion workshops, bringing expert insights to Synapse

  • Run our internal “Inclusive Conversations” series to learn about and discuss these topics together as a community

  • Review compensation equity annually, considering gender and race within comparable roles

• Taking additional, new steps to:

  • Devote internal resources to creating thought leadership on inclusive design & product development, utilizing the unique knowledge and expertise of our community

  • Review and update our recruitment and interview processes to further reduce bias and seek “culture add,” rather than “culture fit”

  • Invest in unconscious bias and inclusion & belonging training for all employees, incorporating this into our onboarding process

  • Empower our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) employee group through sponsorship by Senior Leadership

  • Curate anti-racism educational tools and resources to help Synapsters improve as allies

This statement and action plan shows our intent and reinforces our longstanding belief in the power of inclusive community, but it is only a set of words. Our success will be measured by the impact of the actions we take. This change will take time, and we are committed to the journey.