One of the top goals for many companies in the tech industry is to focus on building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. It is also one of our top goals at VentureFizz in terms of helping to support companies on this important mission.
Companies have different approaches as it relates to how they are addressing their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, so we thought that it would be valuable to profile companies and what they are doing to accomplish their DEI initiatives.
Mimecast empowers over 40,000 customers to mitigate risk and manage complexities across a threat landscape driven by malicious cyberattacks, human error, and technology fallibility. Our advanced solutions provide proactive threat detection, brand protection, awareness training, and data retention capabilities evolving workplaces need today. Mimecast seeks to transform email and collaboration security into the eyes and ears of organizations worldwide.
In May 2022, Mimecast was acquired by Permira, taking it private and marking a new era of ownership and transformation. With Permira’s resources, network and deep experience scaling global technology companies, we will be better positioned than ever to deliver the innovations that our customers and the world need.
Please provide a high level statement supporting your DEI mission and objectives?
As a global company, we believe our success rests in the diverse nature of our business and our ability to connect with our employees, customers, and clients from all walks of life. We believe our ability to scale and grow relies in part on our efforts to attract and retain diverse talent.
Our Global DEI Strategy is informed by an approach that focuses on 4 key pillars – Career, Culture, Community and Commerce.
- Culture: Driving initiatives internally that enhance our culture and create a sense of belonging for all Mimecasters.
- Career: Developing a talent attraction and retention strategy that champions the careers of diverse Mimecasters.
- Community: Fostering greater community resilience through partnerships with non-profits that engage with underrepresented communities.
- Commerce: Supporting go-to-market and sales functions in the support of diverse communities through our product
What is Mimecast doing to attract a more diverse workforce?
Since launching our Global DEI strategy in 2021, we have invested in efforts to address representation opportunities across our workforce to better reflect our local communities, with a particular focus on increasing the representation of Women and People of Color in our employee base.
We know that in order to attract a diverse workforce, we need to meet them where they are. As such, we have established partnerships with external organizations such as Professional Diversity Network (PDN), MA LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and Circa to support attracting and recruiting diverse talent. Through these partnerships, we have access to a diverse candidate pool, where we can connect with diverse community groups and promote Mimecast as an employer of choice.
Through 2022, our Talent Acquisition team, in collaboration with Mimecasters, attended and hosted over 20 virtual events and experiences with external partners, universities and colleges. Some of these included the WomenTech Network; Resilient Coders, University of New Hampshire, MA LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, Black Hat and MASS Tech Leadership Council.
Our newly hired Global Employer Brand & Talent Engagement leader in collaboration with our Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion also ensures we represent the diversity of our Mimecasters in all external facing talent attraction materials, working with our Employee Resource Groups, to reach and appeal to as diverse an audience as possible.
Can you share all the different Employee Resource Groups at Mimecast?
Employee Resource Groups to Drive Psychological Safety & Inclusion
Our ERGs are open to all employees and are built on a philosophy that to build a workplace that works for everyone, everyone must build it together.
Mimecast currently has four ERGs, with over 500 members in total:
- PRIDE (LGBTQ+)
- HUES – Humans Understanding Each Other’s Stories (People of Color)
- Women at Mimecast
- MIMEAbility (People with Disabilities)
Our ERGs have been at the heart of delivering thought-provoking initiatives that help foster empathy, awareness, and psychological safety amongst employees.
What other programs do you have to support your DEI initiatives?
- Future Builders Program: For Director-level and above roles, Mimecast leverages a Future Builders Program where members of our Employee Resource Groups and Global DEI Council participate in the interview process. This program sets us up to have a diverse pool of trained interviewers who actively facilitate discussions on our values and assess for inclusive leadership competencies amongst candidates.
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Inclusion Awareness Training: Mimecasters have ongoing learning and development opportunity workshops to deepen their understanding of key DEI concepts and their applicability to our work. Our annual flagship event, in recognition of Global Diversity Awareness Month in October, was attended by over 350 employees globally, where our headline speaker, Dr. Eddie Moore, delivered a thought-provoking session on the root causes of inequity and systemic biases. Regional events were hosted in our UK, Australian, USA and South African offices for employees to experience in-person discussions on inclusion and belonging.
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Enhanced Benefits: We have enhanced our Benefits policy to better cater to non-traditional definitions of family and lifestyle. This was done in consultation with external non-profit MA LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce to leverage their expertise and ensure best practice to support our LGBTQ+ employees.
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Partnerships with Year Up & ELATT Program: Mimecast has leveraged our partnerships with Year Up & ELATT to support workforce development and open internship opportunities for students from marginalized backgrounds.
This aligns with our internal work, through employee resource groups and core policies, to create an inclusive workforce that prioritizes accessibility.
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Self-Identification Program: In 2022, Mimecast launched its first Diversity Self-Identification campaign. This effort gave Mimecasters the opportunity to voluntarily disclose demographic information beyond gender and age globally. By doing so, we will be able to better understand the breadth of diversity that exists amongst our workforce, whilst implementing targeted solutions to effectively drive the development, retention, and professional growth of our diverse employee base.
Do you have any data that you’d like to share that demonstrates your diverse workforce?
Please see Mimecast's 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report for further information on our efforts to support our diverse workforce.
Where can I find more information about your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives?
We’ll be releasing our 2023 Annual ESG report shortly, stay tuned!
“Being the chair of the MIMEability ERG is about making sure everyone's got a voice and a safe space that they can come to. We're all sharing our stories. We're all trying to make Mimecast a better place, using the ERGsand building a community together.”
- David McBeth, Customer Success Manager and Chair of MIMEAbility
Every day I’m inspired by the passion and action of our Mimecasters to help weave diversity, equity, and inclusion into their everyday actions and our culture. We have come a long way in our journey, with some successes to be proud of, and certainly many challenges to learn from. I remain hopeful we will continue to build an organization that role models inclusion and truly works for everyone.”
- Jennifer Odogwu, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
