PayPal Ireland employees. Image: Connor McKenna
PayPal has, for the first time, released information about the demographic make-up of its 18,000-strong global workforce, stating that the company’s progress on diversity and inclusion is “encouraging”.
According to a statement released by PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, the online payments service now boasts a global workforce of 44pc women and 56pc men.
In addition, the company has placed a focus on increasing the number of women in management roles, and women now hold one-third of leadership roles.
That workforce comprises 119 nationalities across 56 offices in 31 countries. In the US, Hispanic and African-American employees make up 14pc of the workforce.
“While that is better than most tech companies, it is still short of our goal of a workforce that truly reflects the make-up of the communities in which we work and live,” said Schulman.
PayPal has made a commitment to releasing these figures on an annual basis, with Schulman stating that “transparency is essential to fostering constructive dialogue, action and progress”.
Furthermore, the company has eradicated pay disparity globally between men and women and, in the US, can claim ethnic pay parity.
“One of our most important priorities was to ensure that people working in comparable roles are paid equally throughout the company, regardless of gender,” said Schulman. “We focused and worked hard, and successfully reached this goal in less than a year.”
PayPal’s report on diversity figures, via PayPal
While all of this is promising, Schulman acknowledged that there is a lot more work to be done.
He has tasked senior leaders throughout PayPal to make diversity commitments that can be backed up by clear organisational management plans.
He has also announced intentions to strengthen ties with organisations devoted to increasing diversity in the tech sector, expand internal programmes – like Recharge – that foster more diverse workforces, and invest in the company’s inclusion and diversity communities.
“Underlying all our commitment is the deeper goal of equal opportunity and treatment for all,” said Schulman. “We pursue this goal inside the company because we believe that an environment where all employees feel valued and empowered to offer their best ideas will make us a stronger, more successful company.
“More than that, we pursue this goal because this is the kind of world we wish to live in – a world in which everyone has an equal opportunity to lead a fulfilling, safe and successful life.”
Tech giant Apple also released diversity figures this week, stating that 32pc of its global workforce is comprised of women and, in the US, underrepresented minorities make up 22pc of its workforce.
