CareerFoundry, the leading online learning platform for career-changing into tech, is excited to announce the release of our 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Report, our first since 2019. This report includes a comprehensive analysis of the progress on CareerFoundry’s DEI initiatives and outlines our strategy to continue creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all employees and students.
At CareerFoundry, we’re on a mission to enable anyone—regardless of background—to build a career that allows them to work on their own terms.
We know that the field of tech is generally not representative of the diversity in our society and that this lack of diversity reflects a discrepancy of opportunity and access across historically marginalized populations.
As a global learning platform offering online career-changing courses in tech, we know we are uniquely positioned to level the playing field by helping people around the world transition into careers they may not otherwise have access to.
As such, we believe we have a responsibility to be an agent of change. In order to build a world where everyone has access to equal opportunities, we need to start with ourselves first. That’s why we’re making a long-term commitment to DEI.
The 2023 DEI Report provides a thorough breakdown of CareerFoundry’s student and staff demographics. Since our 2019 Diversity Report, we’ve grown from 40 to 120 employees, from 100 to over 700 instructors, and to over 3000 active students worldwide. We’re proud to share that this vast growth has allowed us to increase the diversity of our community.
A few of the diversity highlights we’re proud of:
Our new DEI report also includes a detailed strategy for how we will strengthen our commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive place of work and learning. Here is a summary of the main pillars of our DEI Strategy:
Employee representation
While we’re proud of our current diversity, we believe that in order to best meet the needs of our student body, we must start by representing our student diversity internally. Otherwise, communities who are underrepresented in the industry may be underserved by the products we design and the services we provide. That’s why one of our 2023 goals is to increase employee diversity to better mirror our students—with special focus toward ethnic diversity and increased gender diversity in S.T.E.M. roles.
Employee retention
We recognize that while a group may be diverse, that does not make it equitable or inclusive. That’s why a core part of our goal in 2023 is to increase not only employee diversity, but also retention. To achieve this, we’re offering more robust leadership development training, mentorship programs, and workplace flexibility initiatives; such as reduced working hours, remote work, and sabbatical programs.
Reducing entry barriers for underrepresented groups
To continue moving the goalposts of equality within tech, we will offer new scholarships to groups continuously underrepresented in the industry. These scholarships will be accompanied by regular live and interactive DEI events spotlighting people in tech from underrepresented communities. Our hope is to create an open space for dialogue, representation, and networking to help inspire and motivate those who rarely see themselves in tech.
Improving student support and accessibility
We’re striving for greater user accessibility in our courses by expanding student advising efforts to provide more personalized support. We are also increasing the amount of media (such as videos and audio) in our curriculum to better accommodate and support students with learning disabilities. Lastly, we are implementing a more comprehensive student diversity survey to assess whether our learning experience and services are creating equal outcomes.
Read our full Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report 2023.
For a short overview of diversity at CareerFoundry, you can also check out our at-a-glance fact sheets:
- CareerFoundry Employee Diversity at a Glance
- CareerFoundry Student Diversity at a Glance
- CareerFoundry Instructor Diversity at a Glance
We recognize the importance of DEI both in the world and within our mission and we’re committed to making this strategy an embedded priority across the company to play our part in bringing diversity and inclusion into the future of tech.
To join us in our journey, you can check out our current job openings, or take a look at our career-change programs if you’re interested in studying at CareerFoundry. You can also book a free call with an expert program advisor to discuss your options—they’ll help you figure out if a career in tech is a good fit for you.
About the author
Maria Fernanda (MK) Kirigin
Maria Fernanda (MK) Kirigin is the Senior Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer at CareerFoundry. A proud Latina from Bolivia who studied education policy at Harvard, she’s been dedicated to DEI in education for over 8 years. MK is passionate about democratizing knowledge, creating inclusive communities, and making tech careers accessible to all.