Building a more positive place online begins inside Pinterest

Pinterest’s mission to build a more positive place online starts inside the company, where leaders are committed to advancing inclusion and diversity within its global workforce—and publicly sharing those efforts. Pinterest today released an update on some of its inclusion and diversity efforts for the first half of 2024.

“At Pinterest, we deliver an experience that reflects our users’ interests, tastes and culture no matter who they are. We can only do that when our people and products reflect the diversity of our world,” said Doniel Sutton, Pinterest’s Chief People and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. “That is why we strive every day to do better and to be transparent about what we’re doing.”

Among the program updates released today are:

Workforce representation 

Pinterest sponsors eight global employee resource groups, or Pinclusion groups, which provide a space for employees to connect on identity-based interests, and three groups focused on connecting employee interests to business strategy, or Pinspiration groups, all of which create a culture of belonging. In March, the Talent Acquisition team partnered with the Indigenous employee resource group, PIndigenous, for a panel discussion open to mid-level technical and non-technical Indigenous professionals and allies. More than 60 participants shared stories about how they developed and pivoted their careers through their transferable skills and experiences.

External engagements also helped Pinterest advance its inclusion and diversity mission. At the Dublin Tech Summit in May in Ireland, a Pinterest executive delivered a keynote address highlighting the company’s inclusive products. The same month, the company also hosted an invite-only recruiting event focused on women at Pinterest’s new Dublin office. Furthermore, Pinterest collaborated with the Latinas in Tech conference to host a virtual workshop delivered by the company's Product team and sponsored a recruiting booth at the conference. 

Building an inclusive culture 

Each of Pinterest’s ~4,500 employees participate in an Introduction to Inclusion workshop, either as part of onboarding for new employees or through periodic updates for teams. The content was refreshed for 2024 to keep it relevant and aligned with company strategy. One new hire called it “an amazing course” with “a lot of useful information, not only for my integration and understanding of Pinterest’s values and mission, but for my life too.”

Also in 2024, Pinterest provided a new leadership development experience for its Pinclusion and Pinspiration group leads, sending them to Uplift by BetterUp. Joining fellow leaders, senior executives, groundbreaking researchers and world-renowned speakers for the two-day summit, the Pinterest cohort focused on the intersection of wellness, psychology and courageous leadership. Speakers included Adam Grant, Brené Brown, James Clear, Tracee Ellis Ross and other academics, researchers and business leaders. 

In March, over 1,200 employees from around the world participated in Pinterest’s Women’s Conference via an internal summit focused on empowerment, creativity and resilience. A month later, Pinterest employees around the world participated in the company’s Global Day of Service, ranging from clean-up efforts in California to volunteering at a plant nursery in Paris. The Pinterest team in Germany invited students to local company offices to learn about different careers with the goal of countering gender norms in careers.

Creating belonging through product

Pinterest continues to be an industry leader in creating products that reflect the values of inclusivity and diversity cherished by its users. For instance, in 2024, we announced body type ranges in the US, UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Germany, which gives users the choice to self-select what body types are featured in their search results for women’s fashion and wedding ideas. Members of the Inclusive Product team participated in the Product Equity Summit in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Tech Accountability Coalition, where they presented our advancements in building for more size inclusion on Pinterest and participated in discussions with industry expert groups.

Because the content we show on Pinterest is critical to create a more inclusive experience, we’ve launched a PinAcademy module dedicated to Inclusive Product to educate marketers, brands and advertisers on our Inclusive Product advancements and how to create more inclusive content.

Additionally, the Pinterest Inclusion Fund launched for a fourth year, supporting content producers across merchants, publishers and creator agencies from historically marginalized communities. The program provided personalized training on Pinterest products, financial resources and opportunities to continue growing on Pinterest. The program launched in 10 markets: US, UK, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and France.

Industry partnerships 

The Pinterest Inclusion Advisory Council met regularly with company executives to provide advice, insights and oversight on product development, recruiting, onboarding and more. The council includes leaders from some of the top civil rights and justice organizations in the country, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), among others. 

Pinterest sent data science employees who identify as women to the Women in Data Science, Stanford Conference to deepen their professional development. Other professional development and opportunities for connection were fostered through partnerships with BlackNorth Initiative, The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and Rede Mulher Empreendedora.

Pay equity

We remain committed to maintaining pay equity across gender and race, which means equal pay for comparable work. In a dynamic workplace, maintaining pay equity requires vigilance and ongoing monitoring. Twice a year we analyze compensation and make adjustments when necessary to continue to stand by this very important commitment.

Looking ahead

It’s through a dynamic workforce that Pinterest aims to deliver an online experience that is as diverse and inclusive as its massive audience.The next, and more comprehensive, update will come in 2025 when Pinterest releases its annual ESG Impact Report.