---
title: Making the Case for Practicing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at a Company
  Level
teaser: 'We invest in DEI because it''s the right thing to do.

  '
tags: diversity,inclusivity,culture,dei,inclusion,teams
author: Edward Loveall
published_on: 2021-12-13
---

Why do we focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at thoughtbot?
Many technology companies fail their employees who aren't
[white][barrons-black-women-leaving],
[male][mit-women-leave-engineering],
[cisgender, heterosexual][nbc-lgbtq-bullying], or a
[mountain of other identities][well-and-good-privileges]. We believe
that building an environment where _everyone_ can thrive is our moral
imperative.

We offer benefits like vacation, time off, and parental leave despite
the fact that those things cost real money. We offer them because it
would be wrong to expect that everyone could live a full life from only
a weekend. It's also unreasonable to expect that all our employees can
lead a full life if we ignore DEI.

Similarly, [we spend effort, time, and money towards DEI][how-we-setup-dei-council]. We're always [looking to
improve][continuous-improvement-value] the place we work at and the
world we live in and DEI fits naturally into that ethos. It's not so
different from simply
being kind to one another. There's no law that says we must be kind, but
being kind creates a better place to work.

Another benefit we've found is that that focusing on DEI can also be
[good for business][mckinsey-diversity-matters]. For us, having a
diverse team (not just in race but across many axes) will help us
understand a broader range of people. That understanding leads to better
software for a larger audience. It's a natural consequence of becoming
aware of that audience. And while this is a wonderful advantage for us,
we still believe that our DEI efforts are necessary with or without any
business benefits.

In summary, we seek **diversity** because it's the right thing to do. We
support **equity** to keep that diverse set of people engaged at every
level. We work towards **inclusion** to make sure everyone is
comfortable engaging. Success requires all three pieces. Like a wooden
stool, it needs those three legs to stand. Missing any one leg, it
falls.

[barrons-black-women-leaving]: https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-black-women-are-leaving-the-workforce-51623962131
[mit-women-leave-engineering]: https://news.mit.edu/2016/why-do-women-leave-engineering-0615
[nbc-lgbtq-bullying]: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/bullying-driving-lgbtq-people-out-tech-study-finds-n752646
[well-and-good-privileges]: https://www.wellandgood.com/types-of-privilege/
[how-we-setup-dei-council]: https://thoughtbot.com/blog/how-we-setup-dei-council
[continuous-improvement-value]: https://thoughtbot.com/playbook/our-company/purpose-mission-values#continuous-improvement
[mckinsey-diversity-matters]: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters