One of the top goals for many companies in the tech industry is to focus on building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. It is also one of our top goals at VentureFizz in terms of helping to support companies on this important mission.
Companies have different approaches as it relates to how they are addressing their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, so we thought that it would be valuable to profile companies and what they are doing to accomplish their DEI initiatives.
We connected with DraftKings, a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to fuel the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. Headquartered in Boston, and launched in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings is the only U.S.-based vertically integrated sports betting operator.
Please provide a high level statement supporting your DEI mission and objectives?
We understand that creating a workplace that fosters inclusion and welcomes diversity is an ever-evolving process. We will not be satisfied until we achieve parity across the organization in every experience, including recruiting and career progression, and have maintained a truly open and inclusive culture for everyone.
We work to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging that makes our teammates feel safe, empowered, engaged, championed, and inspired to be the very best.
What is Draftkings doing to attract a more diverse workforce?
DraftKings continues to partner with mission aligned community and industry organizations to build a strong talent network to attract more diverse candidates. Some of our key partnerships include Boston While Black, Kura Labs, Women Who Code, and Womenhack. We will continue to identify key partnerships and events for participation.
Can you share all the different Employee Resource Groups at Draftkings?
At DraftKings, we believe in diversity and providing opportunities for everyone to explore identities, cultures, and communities through stories, discussions, traditions, and languages outside of their own.
Our Employee Resource Groups' overarching mission is to increase the visibility and representation of the diverse workforce at DraftKings and to increase cultural dexterity, awareness, and inclusion for all company-wide.
There are three Employee Resource Groups at DraftKings to support the DraftKings community.
DK Women - We create a community for women at DraftKings to learn, share, and network surrounding the challenges unique to women in business and also aims to empower growth for all DraftKings team members.
DK Shades - To build a strong internal community for Draftkings' diverse workforce and provide opportunities for everyone to explore cultures through story, traditions, languages, and communities.
DK Pride - Our purpose is to nurture a community of knowledge, experience, and network sharing, and communication through programs and events that are inclusive and accessible to all.
What other programs do you have to support your DEI initiatives?
- Enhanced our Benefits policy to include gender affirmation benefits and family planning accommodations.
- Increased diverse representation on the DraftKings Board of Directors by 10%.
- Open discussion forums on Black Lives Matter, Voting Rights, LatinX in Media/Comics, and Anti-Asian Violence with participation from executive leadership.
- Established a partnership with Tech for Heroes to provide veterans and military spouses free, comprehensive high-tech job skills training.
- Recognized and added International Women's Day and Juneteenth to the company holiday calendar.
Where can I find more information about your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives?
You can learn more about DraftKings’ DEI initiatives on our careers site!
https://careers.draftkings.com/who-we-are/diversity-inclusion/
Hear From Our Employees
“One of the most essential parts of my job is cultivating a space where everyone feels safe, empowered, engaged, championed, and inspired to be the best they can be. We center our core work around education and awareness. That includes designing global learning and development programs for inclusive leadership, such as unconscious bias and perception. Our organization leads with empathy, cultural curiosity, and all-in ownership at every level. Our work impacts our global team members, so we take great pride and care in building resources that would include each demographic.” - Marjorie, Program Manager of Inclusion, Equity, and Belong team
“I am excited for DK Shades to continue to expand and intentionally focus on efforts across each office. One of our goals was to provide more opportunities for teammates to take action and get involved in their communities locally. We’ve learned quite a bit, and I am excited to see where this momentum takes us.” - JJ, Co-chair of DK Shades ERG
