Xero’s commitment to diversity,  inclusion and belonging has driven our inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fourth consecutive year.

Like last year, Xero is the one and only company headquartered in New Zealand to be included in the index, which is made up of 484 companies across 45 countries and regions. Our scores have improved each of the four years we’ve been included in the index, and we’re pleased to see our progress demonstrated in such a tangible way. We’re also proud that we continue to rank ahead of the index’s overall average and the technology sector average. This is reflective of our focus on continual improvement when it comes to diversity and inclusion at Xero.

The index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand.

To be considered for the index, we completed a survey to demonstrate our achievements and progress across more than 70 metrics, and, like previous years, we were awarded a score of 100% for transparency.

How we evolved our gender equality approach in 2022

We aim to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace culture that enables everyone to thrive at Xero. With this in mind, we’re constantly evolving our internal initiatives to ensure our employees are really well supported. On top of our existing policies and programs, here’s how we evolved our approach to gender equality in 2022:

• In the 2022 financial year, we committed to gender pay transparency by reporting our gender pay data in our annual report for the first time. We also approved a more ambitious gender diversity target of 45 percent of employees at all levels of Xero identifying as female by 2025 (increased from a target of 40 percent set in 2020).
• In March, we joined the MindTheGap initiative in New Zealand, which advocates that everyone is paid fairly for their work.
• In April, we were thrilled to launch our new global caregivers platform, in partnership with Circle In. This platform is a space for our people with caregiving responsibilities, and the people leaders of carers, to find personalised support and connection. It aims to make life easier wherever possible by providing tailored resources and a community to lean on and guide our people through different aspects of caregiving – from planning a family, to pregnancy, to parenting or caregiving.
• In July, we rolled out our ‘Inclusive Communities’ program to all our employees. This program is designed to build better understanding and capability for our people to demonstrate inclusive behaviours, use inclusive language and have inclusive conversations. Alongside the general ‘all employee’ sessions, we also offered additional sessions for our people leaders.
• Throughout 2022, we extended the reach of our Women of Xero and TechSisters Employee Resource Groups – we now have branches across all of our regions. These groups aim to build connections for women at Xero and raise awareness around gender equality issues.

Supporting gender equality through community engagement

As well as supporting our own people, we also support gender equality efforts in our communities. We’re proud to support women’s communities all over the world through our partnerships with the likes of the English Football Association (The FA), Lewes F.C and New Zealand Football.

Going beyond traditional sponsorships, these are about making a real difference to women, small businesses and communities that support the women’s game. Lewes F.C became the world’s first gender equal football club in 2017, splitting its playing budget and resources equally between the men’s and women’s first teams. Through these partnerships we hope to fuel a movement that’s empowering women and driving gender equality.

Throughout the year, we also supported gender equality efforts in our communities. See more about Xero’s focus on diversity and inclusion on our website.

At Xero we’re committed to do more than “talk the talk” when it comes to  diversity, inclusion and belonging and we’re so proud to be named alongside like-minded companies that are also committed to advancing their efforts in this space. As we look ahead to 2023 and beyond, we’ll continue to build on the strong foundations we’re establishing to drive gender equality – enshrining diversity, inclusion and belonging as essential strategic priorities for Xero and the communities we support.