Driving Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

I am often asked how a company drives Diversity and Inclusion. Is it from the top-down? From the bottom-up? Or somewhere in between? My answer: All of the above. 

The factors that lead to a homogenous workforce must be acknowledged and addressed for an organization to create a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Building a heterogeneous, inclusive, and diverse workplace is not only the right thing to do, it results in greater innovation, a better culture, and a stronger bottom line.

In our third Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, released this month, we share how far we’ve come since our first report: the growth and diversity of our people, the results of programs we’ve implemented, and the work of the Pure Storage community outside the Pure Storage community. 

Some highlights I’ve personally been looking forward to sharing from this year’s report, which you can access here:

• 47% Y/Y increase in Inclusive Leadership Index for VP+
• Launched Catalyst Sponsorship Program, geared to develop women and underrepresented groups (URGs) to ready them for senior-level leadership roles
• Conducted bi-annual pay equity analyses
• Launched a self-ID campaign to close the gap on diversity disclosure

Read on to learn more.

What Is The DEI Center of Excellence (CoE)?

An important part of Pure Storage culture is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). I lead our DEI Center of Excellence (CoE), where we develop and implement company-wide strategies around three key pillars: diverse representation, equitable policies and practices, and inclusive culture. 

We know that our company and industry have more work ahead to advance DEI in the workplace, but we are extremely heartened by our momentum—much of which you’ll see reflected in this recent report.

Diverse Representation 

At Pure Storage, our culture is fundamental to who we are. We are dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where every individual can thrive. We are empowered to make a difference both within our company and in the world at large. Our commitment extends beyond the office walls—prioritizing the well-being and safety of our global team and actively working to drive positive change for our customers and communities worldwide. This is made possible through our robust employee programs and impactful community partnerships, all fueled by our diverse and dedicated workforce of more than 5,600 people spanning over 30 countries.

Our culture, driven by values of persistence, creativity, teamwork, ownership, and customer first, is built on honesty, integrity, and respect. To support our growth, we increased our talent base by 8% in the past year. We are continually enhancing our hiring practices and locations to attract skilled individuals and maintain a global, diverse outlook. Our strategy focuses on empowering employees to achieve business success and personal growth.

We are committed to improving gender and ethnic representation while also ensuring equity in our practices and policies. To support a diverse candidate slate and interview panels to mitigate unconscious bias from our hiring process, we regularly provide training and resources for hiring managers to hone the skills needed to manage an objective candidate assessment process. We also participate in a variety of external conferences and events focused on diverse talent recruitment.  

The Inclusive Leadership Index: Advancing DEI from the Top

In FY24, we built on the foundation of the Pure Storage Inclusive Leadership Index (ILI), introduced in FY23. We focused on maturing this tool, which remains integral to our strategy of fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Quarterly, the average ILI scores are reported to the Board’s Compensation and Talent Committee, with the company-wide ILI average increasing by 47% versus FY23 and exceeding our FY24 target by 22 points.

The intent of the program is to ensure our leaders have access to a measurable and transparent method to own and inform their DEI progress and priorities. It focuses on seven key criteria that we believe are integral to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce, including a leader’s: 

• Diversity of their direct reporting line team
• Employee engagement among diverse team members
• Acquisition of diverse talent within the leader’s organization
• Retention of diverse talent
• Promotion rates of diverse talent within the leader’s organization
• Visible sponsorship of employee resource group initiatives
• Completion of learning and development around DEI imperatives

We coach leaders on these, including sharing research and best practices and providing HR and enablement support. Leaders who have high scores are recognized, as are those who improve their index scores quarter over quarter. What better way to demonstrate to our employees around the world that we are all in this together!

The results:

• Increased Talent Development Index from 78% to 82% Y/Y
• Increased Inclusive Leadership Index for VP+ by 47% Y/Y

The Leadership Academy

We launched the Pure Leadership Academy, offering comprehensive learning and averaging 35 hours of training per employee to ensure we provide value and growth opportunities within the company. Two Leadership Academy courses focused on cultivating inclusion and increasing DEI acumen and application across all levels: Inclusion Starts with You for all employees, and Inclusive Leadership for All Workshop for VPs. Seventy percent of our accepted offers complied with our diversity guideline, with a third of the candidates interviewed being women or from underrepresented groups. The Board of Directors and executive management persist in acknowledging the significance of robust governance to ensure we foster a responsible, ethical, and inclusive business environment and workplace. We also continue to mature our ESG governance model to positively impact our product development, operations, supply chain, and stakeholder partnerships.

From Our Employees

From our founding, Pure Storage has established a culture built on honesty, integrity, and respect. This culture permeates throughout our employees and offices around the world.

But just as important as building a diverse team is having an engaged team. And we’re proud that our most recent employee survey engagement scores improved among women and members of underrepresented groups. When asked if they would recommend Pure Storage as a great place to work, both groups had a 5% year-over-year increase in favorability, to 96% and 93%, respectively. The numbers speak for themselves:

• Received a job candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 81
• 8.9/10 of employees stated in our internal survey that they are proud to work for Pure Storage
• 8.6/10 recommend Pure Storage as a place to work
• 92% of employees surveyed rate Pure Storage as a great place to work
• 86% Overall Employee Engagement Index—a one-point increase Y/Y

Our talent strategy is rooted in helping our employees deliver strong business results while also fostering a culture that enables each employee to enhance their skills and accelerate their career development.

Pure Storage Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Our global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are expanding and remain crucial in nurturing inclusion and community. They provide development opportunities, boasting more than 1,900 members worldwide. In FY24, at the request of our employees, we replaced the Coalition ERG with three new ERGs including AsiaPacificIslander@Pure, Black@Pure, and Latinx@Pure. The employees who lead Pure Storage ERGs, affinity groups, and allies under the “Pure Equality” umbrella help drive inclusion and create a workplace where we can all thrive. Our ERG leaders and members create inclusive experiences that connect us as one Pure Storage family globally, including:

• Able@Pure: Focuses on the visibility and support of differently-abled employees
• AsianPacificIslander@Pure (new in FY24): Brings together and supports colleagues globally connected to the Asian Pacific Islander community
• Black@Pure (new in FY24): Brings together and supports colleagues globally connected to the Black community
• Latinx@Pure (new in FY24): Brings together and supports colleagues globally connected to the LatinX community
• Pride@Pure: Offers a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ employees, promoting a safe and inclusive workplace
• Rise@Pure: Empowers those new to their careers or the tech industry
• Veterans@Pure: Supports veterans through community building, hiring initiatives, and volunteering
• Women@Pure: Advocates for women’s workplace challenges and facilitates growth and collaboration

Our ERGs also create ongoing opportunities for the Pure Storage community to connect and inspire each other, through weekly virtual Pride lunches, podcasts and webcasts, panel discussions, book clubs, and volunteer opportunities organized by our Pure Good Foundation.

Career Week

This past year, Pure Storage hosted its second annual Career Week, encouraging employees to focus on their career interests and growth. Thirteen offices participated globally, offering insights from executive staff and industry experts, career planning workshops, and practical tips for career advancement.

DEI Processes and Programs

Diversity and Inclusion is sustained and reinforced systematically through formal processes and programs. 

• Our Talent Acquisition team is leading the charge to ensure we have diverse talent pools for every open role.
• The Benefits team has focused on providing individualized offerings that reflect the unique needs of our people.
• Our Learning & Development team has designed learning experiences to help employees and leaders deepen and broaden their knowledge and awareness so that we can increase representation, enrich our culture of belonging, and have a “think global, plan local” inclusive mindset. 

There’s a lot happening at Pure Storage to drive Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging throughout our global family. We have great momentum already with this journey we’re on, and we’re excited about the direction we’re headed. 

Explore the report to learn more.