Women in MACH Manifesto for Gender Equality
By Women in MACH
MACH Manifesto 2.0 Commitment
The MACH Alliance represents a dynamic community of companies, ambassadors, and contributors propelling a new era in enterprise technology. We are committed to urging companies within our ecosystem to exceed the norm in supporting women's advancement, equality and equity in the workplace. Our goal is to encourage more proactivity around diversity and inclusion, particularly gender equality and equity, recognizing the critical and growing role that women play in our industry.
This manifesto, crafted and championed by our dedicated community of MACH women, reflects the MACH Alliance's commitment and that of its signatories to enhance their contributions and forge pathways for success in this field for others.
By signing the following manifesto, we commit to the following:
Transparency and Openness
We commit to acknowledging our shortcomings and addressing them transparently. We aim to foster a culture where gender equality is not an additional task but an inherent practice.
Active Involvement
We will proactively work on enhancing gender equality through targeted training, focused discussions, and continuous monitoring of our progress. This includes equitable opportunities in hiring and promotions and ensuring our decisions are factual and unbiased.
Cultural Integrity
Our culture is defined by the standards we uphold. We will not tolerate discrimination or passive acceptance of inappropriate behaviors. Every individual, regardless of gender, is expected to actively support an inclusive environment.
Leadership Accountability
We expect our leaders to actively support and advocate for all talent, taking personal responsibility to guide and sponsor career advancement. Leadership should exemplify the values of gender equality and lead by positive example.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
We are dedicated to eliminating any pay gaps within our organizations. We commit to transparency in pay and progression, ensuring that our practices are fair and unbiased.
Diverse Representation
We pledge to ensure our leadership reflects the diversity of our customers and employees, not only in gender but also in ethnic and sexual orientation. This commitment extends to our public presence, including events, social media, and decision-making panels.
By signing this manifesto, we acknowledge that meaningful change requires collective action from individuals at all levels, regardless of gender. As advocates of MACH, we also acknowledge the value of incremental and impactful innovation. We’ve identified 6 actions that signees can commit to as a first step towards achieving the above. Please select at least six action items from the below.
Equality in Hiring Commitments
☐ Bias-Free Evaluation
We commit to involving a third party with expertise in bias prevention to objectively evaluate our hiring processes.
☐ Manifesto Integration
We commit to implementing this manifesto within our HR and People teams, using it as a training tool for our recruiters and talent acquisition teams.
☐ Diverse Sourcing
We commit to evaluating and expanding the sources from which we recruit candidates, broadening our reach to different locations and diverse talent pools.
☐ High Standards in Policies
We commit to establishing high standards in our policies related to quotas, parental leave, family expansion, and flexible working, aiming to set an industry example.
☐ Future-Focused Hiring Forms
We commit to designing hiring forms that assess potential and future job requirements, rather than solely focusing on past career history.
☐ Role Suitability Assessment
We will conduct assessments to ensure a diversity of women are considered for roles even if they haven't previously held the exact position.
☐ Bias-Free Language
We commit to removing biased language from our hiring process and will have our vocabulary reviewed by a specialist.
☐ Bias Training
We commit to training our staff to recognize and avoid bias of all kinds during interviews.
☐ Diverse Interview Panels
We commit to including at least two representative interviewers in the hiring process to ensure diverse perspectives.
Promotion Based on Merit Commitments
☐ Transparent Promotion Decisions
We commit to documenting and explaining promotion decisions based on objective facts, which may be presented anonymously to a decision-making panel.
☐ Clear Career Pathways
We commit to defining clear career pathways within the company that outline necessary skills, deliverables, a development plan, and associated salary ranges.
☐ Public Competency Model
We commit to creating and maintaining a publicly accessible and transparent competency model.
☐ Ongoing Development Plans
We commit to implementing a development plan for all employees post-onboarding and will evaluate our managers based on their execution of these plans.
☐ Anonymous Inequality Reporting
We commit to establishing an internal service that allows employees to report inequalities and inequities anonymously. These reports will be investigated by an external party.
Equal Pay Commitments
☐ Salary Transparency
We commit to publishing an internal comparison of salaries as it relates to gender, providing detailed information to hiring managers to address and prevent pay inequities from the onset.
☐ Systematic Pay Equity
We commit to maintaining transparent, unbiased pay and progression systems and favoring systematic, proactive processes over individual negotiations.
☐ Equality in Compensation Packages
We commit to ensuring that all women have equal access to benefits, equity, shares, and bonus schemes.
☐ Pay Gap Reporting
We commit to publicly disclosing our gender pay gap, similar to the requirements in the UK.
☐ Board Meeting Agenda
We commit to making gender equality and equity a mandatory topic in board meetings, with regular status updates.
Culture Commitments
☐ Harassment Protocol
We commit to establishing a protocol for handling harassment complaints and ensuring a standardized follow-up procedure for these cases.
☐ Mentorship Program
We commit to implementing a mentorship program designed to prepare women for career advancement.
☐ Inclusion in Company Meetings
We commit to making gender equality and equity, and diversity a standard agenda item in all company meetings.
☐ Communication of Commitments
We commit to discussing our manifesto, commitments, and progress during interviews and onboarding processes.
☐ Bias Training and Feedback Mechanisms
We commit to training our staff to recognize and avoid bias and discrimination in all work aspects, and to establishing mechanisms for listening and feedback sessions.
☐ Promotion of STEM Careers
We commit to actively participating in events that offer diverse representation, encouraging women to pursue careers in STEM.
☐ Employee Feedback Surveys
We commit to gathering employee feedback through regular anonymous surveys to gauge the effectiveness of our initiatives.
☐ Steering Committee for Objectivity
We commit to forming a steering committee that ensures objectivity in all processes related to gender equality and equity.
☐ Personal Leadership Commitment
I personally commit to standing up against inappropriate or discriminatory behavior toward women of all backgrounds, whether within our team or externally.
Allies Commitments
☐ Mentor System
We commit to implementing a mentor system that connects leaders with employees, regardless of gender, fostering cross-gender support and guidance.
☐ Gender Equality Policy
We commit to defining and implementing a comprehensive gender equality, equity, and diversity policy that serves to guide our organizational practices.
☐ Executive Leadership Mentorship
I personally commit — and will encourage all executive leaders to do the same — to proactively select two talented women in the company to mentor and guide, helping them to optimize their career progression.
Representation in Leadership Commitments
☐ Leadership Gender Diversity
We commit to ensuring gender diversity within our leadership teams and will publish the male/female ratio in senior positions to maintain transparency and accountability.
☐ Fair Representation in Public Forums
We commit to fair representation of women in all our events (both public and internal), as well as in our social media and marketing materials. We aim for a 50/50 gender balance and will not accept more than 60% male representation on any public stage, whether virtual or in-person.
☐ Manifesto Ratification
We commit to having all team leaders internally ratify the manifesto, ensuring that every member of the company is involved and committed to this initiative.
☐ Personal Commitment to Diverse Representation
I personally commit to never participating in professional panels or public appearances composed solely of men. Ideally, the representation will be 50/50, or at least 40% women of diverse backgrounds. I will communicate this standard to event organizers to ensure that diversity is prioritized, influencing the broader community to align with our principles of gender equality.