PayPalis committed to
democratizing financial services and enabling people around the world to improve their financial health. At the core of this mission, is a fundamental commitment to inclusion – the belief that everyone should be able to fully participate in the financial system. We believe that to truly succeed in this endeaveor we, as an employer, must establish an environment for diversity to thrive. These values guide our daily actions and fuel our strategy, our products, our services and our partnerships.
To drive this mission forward in communities around the Bay Area, we collaborated with
The Atlantic to organize and convene a day-long
workshop for local leaders across the public, private and social sectors to collectively explore ways to advance and support inclusion in Silicon Valley and beyond. More than just talking about diversity and inclusion challenges, the day was designed as an action lab of sorts – an opportunity for leaders throughout Silicon Valley to engage and partner in identifying opportunities for improvement, to evaluate progress and to develop a shared agenda.
PayPal's Chief People Officer, Marcia Morales-Jaffe (left) participates in The Atlantic's Inclusion in Silicon Valley" event
Marcia Morales-Jaffe, PayPal’s Chief People Officer, joined a panel of senior leaders from Google, Slack and other organizations to open the event with a
town hall conversation defining challenges and opportunities facing corporations, local governments, educators and other partners as they look to create inclusive cultures. With contributions from event attendees, the panel addressed approaches to fundamental shifts in how tech companies attract and retain top talent, and discussed how companies can more effectively contribute to and reflect our communities. Marcia also encouraged participants to reconsider the “culture fit” mindset and to focus on the cultural
contributions that come with diversifying our workforces.
Franz Paasche (center), PayPal's SVP of Corporate Affairs & Communications, welcomes event attendees to PayPal's "Inclusion in Action: Affecting Change Inside and Out" workshop
LaFawn Davis, PayPal's Head of Culture and Inclusion, leads event attendees in PayPal's "Inclusion in Action: Affecting Change Inside and Out" workshop
Organized in partnership with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Intel, Capital One, Google, and Steelcase and local public officials – including the Mayor of San Jose –, leaders from a range of other organizations stepped up to offer insights and engage in constructive dialogue. I invite you to learn from our workshop partners and participating speakers by watching all the sessions
here.
We believe we not only have the opportunity to advance these objectives and these values within PayPal, but also that we have an important opportunity to represent our employees and our customers in the broader dialogue and debate. While we continue to learn and improve our own efforts, we understand that no single organization can achieve this change alone – that to truly build a more equitable and inclusive future for all, we must share best practices and new ideas with others in our community. Last week’s discussion and workshop demonstrated the potential of this collaborative model and we look forward to continuing the conversation with our Silicon Valley neighbors, and others who share our commitment.