Company: Mediavine
Diversity Team Name: People Ops Department
Diversity Team Leader(s): Matt Richenthal
Website: www.mediavine.com
What Makes this Diversity Team Stand Out
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been a focal point for Mediavine. However, the tragic events in spring 2020 ignited new commitments from our leadership team. Mediavine Cofounder Steve Marsi wrote a blog post that unequivocally stated the company stance: We Stand With You. This rallying cry evolved into a movement for Mediavine. Since then, we have developed We Stand With You PSAs, cultivated safe spaces for team members to connect, led important conversations, and launched new company initiatives related to DEI.
Town hall meetings were initiated to explore how we could sensitively serve and support the POC and LGTBQIA+ communities. Each town hall was exclusively dedicated to Mediavine employees who self-identify as members of those communities. Through these conversations, we crystallized new company standards, including the following:
- New regulations for the Mediavine publisher terms of service to prohibit LGBTQIA+ hate speech on their platforms
- Adding optional pronoun offerings to Mediavine employee email signatures and to our People Operations system to ensure we’re addressing our employees in their preferred ways
- Updating our People Operations policies and procedures to protect trans employees’ privacy regarding protected information
- Redesigning our website to shine light on our devotion to DEI in a more overt way
- Implementing a four-segment—required for all employees—Traliant training course that addresses Diversity, Inclusion & Sensitivity; Microaggressions in the Workplace; Preventing Discrimination & Harassment; and Unconscious Bias
- Creating Slack community channels as safe spaces for diverse groups
- Launching The Belonging Project video, an internal reflection of Mediavine values created by Mediavine employees for Mediavine employees
- Launching our Diversity & Inclusion at Mediavine video, an external reflection of Mediavine values visible to the general public
Additionally, we administered two employee surveys—The Trust Index™ Survey and Best Places to Work survey by Quantum Workplace—at the beginning of 2021 to gauge employee satisfaction and better understand our employees’ wants and needs. The surveys yielded the following results:
- 99% of employees say Mediavine is a great place to work compared to 59% of a typical U.S.- based company
- 100% of employees say people here are treated fairly regardless of race
- 100% of employees say people care about each other at Mediavine
- 100% of employees say when someone joins Mediavine, they are made to feel welcome
- 100% of employees say when people change jobs or work units, they are made to feel right at home
- 100% of employees say they are given the resources and equipment necessary to do their jobs
Our survey feedback earned Mediavine Great Place to Work certification and recognition on Inc. magazine’s 2021 Best Workplaces overall list, as well as a earning our organization a winning spot in Inc.’s Medium: Employee size 50-99 category.
Diversifying our team remains a priority. At the end of 2020, our company workforce was 60 percent female and 38 percent self-identifying POC. In 2021, we’re amplifying that statistic by committing to hiring at least 50 percent POC. We’re proud to say in the first two quarters of 2021 we’ve held true to that commitment.
