By Kim Jenkins, Global Head—Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging, PayPal
PayPal’s mission – to reimagine money and democratize financial services for online bookmakers so people and businesses around the world can improve their financial health – is at the heart of our business and all our actions.
In undertaking this inherently inclusive mission, we understand that to create a diverse, resilient economy requires a diverse, resilient workforce – one that reflects the communities where we work and live, and celebrates the incredible variety of experiences, capabilities, talents, backgrounds and interests of our employees.
As our global employee community has grown and we’ve scaled to support more than 350 million consumers and merchants around the world, we have worked to build an enduring, values-led culture that is foundational to who we are. And we’ve consistently – and deliberately – aligned our commitments, actions and strategic roadmap to our guiding principles of Collaboration, Innovation, Wellness and Inclusion – both internally, and in service of the customers and communities we serve.
This work has become even more critical and urgent, particularly as we continue to navigate the pandemic and accompanying economic crisis.
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap
The events of the past year have amplified the deep structural economic inequality that global communities face – especially Black communities, which have historically been disproportionately impacted. Guided by our mission, vision and values, we are determined to do our part to help close the racial wealth gap contributing to these inequities, and continue to work to address the challenges facing many of our employees, customers and communities.
In June 2020, we consulted with partners across the public, private and nonprofit sectors and leaders within the Black community to better understand the support and investments needed to sustain Black-owned businesses to create long-term economic opportunity. Through this work, we announced a multi-dimensional $535 million commitment to support racial equity and social justice.
The commitment includes short-, medium- and long-term investments in the community:
- $15 million in emergency grants – and an additional $5 million grant in December 2020 – for Black-owned small businesses disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
- $5 million in grants to nonprofit community partners that directly support and empower Black-owned businesses and help provide on-the-ground support
- $500 million Economic Opportunity Fund for minority owned high-growth start-ups, venture investing, investment holdings and community or bank credit unions
- $15 million to PayPal’s Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging programs, and a $5 million pool to be shared among our Employee Resource Groups to help drive internal programming and community engagement.
The holistic set of initiatives was designed to help address the immediate crisis and set the foundation for sustained engagement and progress toward economic equality and social justice. While we have more work to do, we believe our commitment and the actions we’ve taken are important steps forward in helping to combat systemic racism and economic inequality.
The Path Forward
The path to a more equitable future will require ongoing commitment and collaboration across sectors; no one company can accomplish this alone. For our part, we remain focused on building a diverse workforce to solve for the diverse set of challenges facing our communities. To deliver meaningful impact through products and services, and to meet the expectations of our employees, customers, shareholders and investors, we will continue to embrace an inside-out approach to Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging.
Together, we have the opportunity to drive transformational impact and advance the economy to create a more inclusive, dynamic and equitable world.
