2021 Demographics and Pay Report

Insider's mission is to inform and inspire through our journalism.

We know that, to achieve this mission, we need a diverse team. We are committed to continuing to make Insider a diverse, equitable, and inclusive place to work. We strive to get better everyday.

To ensure we are making progress on DEI, we will release updated data on demographics and pay across the company once a year.

Here are the results of our 2021 demographics and pay study. We analyzed pay data as of April 1, 2021.

Summary

Our hiring and promotion practices over the last year have increased diversity and reduced pay gaps across all levels of Insider. We have more women and BIPOC representation at every level across editorial and business, in particular in leadership.

We made progress in lowering our "pay gap" - the ratio of total compensation paid to people of different genders and ethnicities - which is narrower than last year and within industry norms. We also regularly assess our "pay equity" - ensuring that people at the same level are paid the same for the same work - and we believe it to be fair. We will continue to correct any disparities if we find them.

Last year, we analyzed our data internally. This year, we partnered with a third-party firm, PayScale, which analyzed our data using their proprietary MarketPay tool.

This means that our 2021 pay data analysis is not an "apples to apples" comparison with last year. We chose to work with a neutral third party partner because we believe PayScale's expertise, technology, and comparative data provide more meaningful context, results and utility.

Going forward, we will analyze the data annually, and we'll be able to track progress year over year on a more consistent basis.

Similar to 2020, we analyzed data for the US team, across editorial and non-editorial (all business and product and technology teams). This analysis does not include our UK team. Payscale combines non-binary with the female gender identification because both are historically underrepresented groups. Approximately 1% of our employees identify as non-binary.

Diversity

We are more diverse than we were last year:

*All employees as of April 1, 2021. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

This increase in diversity is the result of more diverse hiring:

*New hires, July 1, 2021 through April 1, 2021. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

We continue to diversify our leadership team. In fact, 53% of new leadership hires since July are women or BIPOC. However, we recognize that we remain less diverse in leadership than for the company as a whole.

Our executive leadership team members have an average tenure of over 7 years with Insider. This low level of turnover contributes to our continued success, but it also slows our rate of diversification. Our senior leaders also generally have higher-than-average compensation, so this impacts our overall compensation ratios (see below). We remain committed to continuing to diversify our leadership team as we grow and evolve as a company.

Compensation

According to PayScale, our "pay gap" is narrower than last year and within industry norms. "Pay gap" calculations reflect the ratio of earnings for race and gender across the entire organization. They do not reflect a direct comparison of compensation for employees of different gender and race doing identical work. The latter is referred to as "pay equity."

The pay gap in America as a whole shows that women and BIPOC make less than white men. You can learn more about the US pay gap and its impact here and here.

At the company level, our pay gap is within one percent of the average pay gap at other companies across gender and ethnicity, according to PayScale. The charts below show cents on the dollar.

The reason we have pay gaps is because our senior leadership team is less diverse than the company as a whole. We will continue to prioritize diversifying our senior leadership team over time.

We also regularly assess our "pay equity," the goal of paying people the same amount for doing the same work at the same level and effectiveness after adjusting for experience and other factors. We correct any disparities if we find them. Overall, we believe our pay equity is fair.

The practices we've implemented over the last year have helped us improve

We know that improving diversity, equity, and inclusion makes us more successful.

That means ensuring diversity across all levels of the organization so that together we can build a more equitable and inclusive workforce.

Recruitment - We've taken several critical steps towards improving our diversity across the organization as a whole:

• New recruitment guidelines
• Increased partnerships with organizations that champion marginalized communities
• Job description template that prioritizes inclusivity

Training and resources - Diversity alone isn't enough. We want to level the playing field (inclusion) and reinforce our values and priorities (equity). That means ensuring that all employees have access to a robust suite of resources, training, and support to learn and grow across the organization.

• Management training for all leadership and managers
• Live trainings for all employees throughout the year
• Mentorship program
• Access to leadership and talent partners (link office hours)

Annual reviews and promotions - Growth equity is just as important as pay equity. We need to make sure that all employees are being equally measured for success and equally considered and set up for growth.

• We're working on an internal recruitment process policy
• New annual review guidelines have been rolled out across several departments
• We'll continue to work on greater transparency and guidelines around team structure, growth, and career pathing

Transparency - Open and honest communication about our practices and opportunities to Get Better Every Day!

Feedback & Accountability - Because we understand that the best way to learn is to listen.

• Manager feedback survey
• Sharing goals and follow ups
• Engagement survey
• Leadership surveys