Our 2020 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report

At Code for America, we work hard each day to create lasting change and build equitable, people-centered government systems that work well for everyone. 

Equity is a core value that underpins everything we do. Standing shoulder to shoulder with governments and communities, we work hard to design products and services that place people at the center of our process. We believe in the promise of an America where those who are most marginalized have their needs met, everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and diversity is celebrated as a strength. 

But we don’t just want these values showing up in our external work. In order to create lasting change, we also have to apply these same principles to our internal work. To become a truly equitable and inclusive organization, we have to prioritize the needs of our employees as well, building a workplace culture and policies that allow everyone to bring their whole selves to work. 

This work has no end point—it is the constant work of running an organization that strives to reach its full potential. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far, and where we have room to grow:

• Over 50% of our team identifies as people of color, up from 40% two years ago. We’ve seen particular growth in the diversity of our senior staff. At the end of 2020, 68% of Directors and above identified as people of color, up from 16.6% in 2018. This includes 80% of our executive (C-Level) leadership.
• Respecting people with multiple intersecting social identities is key to our work. We’re proud to say that 60% of our executive team is made up of women of color, including our CEO.

All staff by race, ethnicity, and gender

Intersectionality in 2020

• Women also comprise a majority at all levels of the organization and on the board. Even so, representation of women at the Director and above level has declined as we have expanded over the past couple years. We’ll continue to monitor the overall composition of this group to ensure the overall trends are in the direction of increasing diversity. 
• While women and people of color are often alarmingly underrepresented in technical organizations, 48% of our Engineering and Data Science team members identify as as women or non-binary, and 40% as people of color.
• Our biggest representation gap is in our Latinx representation, which is 11% among all staff, compared to 22% of the population in the Bay Area or 18% nationally. Engineering and Data Science has the most room for improvement, particularly in Black and Latinx representation.

Gender By Department

• A quarter of staff identify as part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ+) community. 

To learn more about our progress in 2020 and to see what we’re doing to build a more diverse workforce, more equitable policies, and a more inclusive culture, read the full report.