Zwift News

Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact

by Zwift
on October 18, 2021

 

At Zwift, we’re actively working to build a team that values diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging (DEIB). We want Zwift to foster a representative, just, and welcoming environment - both amongst the team and in the game.

Our mission, getting more people, more active, more often, promotes a healthier society. Through sports, we strive to break down barriers and bring people together. When we say “more people” we mean all people, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

We recognize that underserved communities still encounter disparities in fitness and in the worlds of cycling and running. Our goal is to use our platform to change that.

We’ve brought together a group of our employees to serve in Zwift’s DEIB Inclusion Council and Employee Resource Groups. These employee networks accelerate innovation and bring their different perspectives, experience, and backgrounds to achieve our ambitions.

Through our DEIB Inclusion Council and three Employee Resource Groups (Women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC to start), our goal is to ensure DEIB becomes top of mind in all business decisions.

We organized our work around three core areas:

  1. Brand Presence & Reputation — Our goal is for the Zwift brand to become an industry leader for inclusion and representation. We’re focusing our diversity recruitment, retention, and promotion efforts to drive diverse representation within our candidate pools and teams.
  2. Zwift End-to-End Experience (Product & Content) — We’re working to create inclusive ecosystems within our game and in our platforms that cultivate belonging and access for our communities.
  3. Watopian (Employee) Experience - We recognize that in order to succeed, our work has to start with our own people: fellow Watopians. We continuously offer educational and developmental programs as well as trainings that support our employees on their own anti-racist and active-inclusion journeys.

Zwift Microgrant Program

Applications for the 2023 Zwift Microgrant Program have closed and we are no longer accepting applications for this review cycle. Sign up here to be among the first to be notified when our next microgrant application cycle opens.

Employee Resource Groups 

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that celebrates each of our Watopians. Through our first set of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) — voluntary, employee-led groups — we’re accelerating efforts to ensure that every Watopian, particularly those from underserved communities, can bring their whole selves to work.

Learn more about our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and their missions below.

Mozaic

Working to develop Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders, transforming business by cultivating safe spaces and giving back to our local communities. Members support each other, sponsor events throughout the year, volunteer to support underrepresented communities, and help influence Zwift business decisions to be more equitable and inclusive.

Zwift Priders

Fostering community, networking, and creating opportunities among Zwift’s diverse LGBTQIA+ employees to develop and grow in their professional lives. Members advocate for inclusion and acceptance to celebrate the identities and experiences and to recruit and retain LGBTQIA+ allies and individuals.

Zwift Women’s ERG

Committed to empowering and supporting women and their allies at all career stages. Members foster a community that focuses on the development of women through coaching and mentoring frameworks led by women leaders for current and future women leaders at Zwift.

Zwift’s Inclusion Council 

Our ability to succeed is determined by our level of collaboration and commitment across the company. This year, we launched Zwift’s inaugural Inclusion Council (IC), which serves as a cross-departmental DEIB consultancy designed to operationalize and champion Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) across the organization and accelerate the delivery of DEIB-related goals.

The IC will use DEIB best practices to drive business outcomes, encourage participation and input from team members from all backgrounds, and actively model inclusive leadership behaviors—ultimately delivering inclusivity initiatives across our three focus areas (External & Brand, the Zwift End-to-End Experience [Product & Content], and the Watopian Experience).

Investing in Our Communities

At Zwift, we’re on a mission to break the barriers to fitness and technology to impact the health and wellness of our global communities.

Since our founding in 2014, giving back has been a part of Zwift’s culture. In just a short amount of time we’ve donated more than $1.5 million to underserved communities.

We are rallying around three strategic pillars which align with our mission of “helping more people become more active, more often”:

  • Fitness & Technology - At our core, we are a fitness company born from gaming. We believe in the power of fitness and in technology and making it accessible to all.
  • Health & Wellness - Our platform enables users to better their physical and mental health. We are committed to breaking the barriers to access so that everyone, those from traditionally underrepresented communities especially, has the ability to improve their health and wellness.
  • Community - We are a global company and empower all Watopians to “Do Good” and make an impact in their local neighborhoods.

Zwift has also worked with professional cycling teams and athletes as well as many different brands to support dozens of charity initiatives over the years like Qhubeka, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), UK’s National Health Service, The Dempsey Center, and World Bicycle Relief - just to name a few

This past year, we also made a series of contributions to local, national, and international organizations. We plan to do more to uplift the voices of underserved and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and demonstrate our commitment to the communities where our employees live and work.

Lastly, every Zwift employee is granted 40 hours of paid volunteer time off (VTO) per year — a tremendous benefit that enables Watopian social impact in the local communities Zwift serves. In 2021 alone our Watopians were able to deliver 400+ hours of volunteer service. We’re committed to increasing our level of impact each year.

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