Diversity at Willow

On June 1 of this year, I walked 10 steps out of my back door, stepped into a newly converted “shed office”, and into my new role as Chief Executive Officer of Willow. 

Becoming a first time CEO in the middle of a pandemic, having never met the team in person, during a significant fundraise, while also attempting to homeschool 3 kids was a somewhat of an interesting start. But I was inspired by the mission of this company - to bring joy to motherhood - and the extraordinary impact that Willow has already had on moms on their pumping journey. So, I was fired up and ready to go!

However, that very same week, America erupted as the darkness of systematic racism and oppression bubbled to the forefront of the nation’s discourse. Our team - and many of our extended family of Willow moms - were hurting deeply from the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Many were hurting not only because of these public murders, but also because of the constant fear for their own safety as well as the threat of racial violence against their spouses, friends, children and Black and Brown people across the country.

I felt a huge personal drive to support, learn and do better. I also felt a significant responsibility to do the right thing with and for the Willow community in terms of both actions and meaningful commitments. Companies and CEOs across the US were scrambling to respond with diversity statements - some got it very right, some did not. My new colleagues were looking to me for leadership and answers, with a mix of building frustration and burning passion, to understand how Willow would respond.

In those first few days as CEO, I was faced with a decision that felt impossible - do we put out a statement around our commitments immediately? Or do we dig in and learn? After a few sleepless nights, I realized that authenticity was more important than expediency. I didn’t want issue a superficial statement that would serve as only a ‘paper trail of commitments’, and not represent a real cultural and operational change within Willow. So, we paused. We listened, we learned, we thought, we debated, and we worked on it. We created some ideas that felt meaningful, and we put an action plan behind the ideas. And I’m proud to share it with you all today (below, and here on our site).

At Willow, we are constantly learning and evolving on how to do better regarding diversity and inclusion, but I'm most inspired by the passion and dedication the team has already demonstrated. In that very first week, we started to take some immediate action, which included donating to charities that supported people of color, supporting an internal allyship group, changing our research, content and creative to represent more diverse mom journeys, improving our hiring practices, and more. We have an incredible amount of work to do ahead, but our statement will be a strong guide for us along the way.

I still don’t know whether I made the right choice to not create and share Willow’s commitments to diversity and inclusion immediately. However, I do know that I’m proud of the goals we’ve set for ourselves, and confident that we will deliver on our commitments both internally and externally, to help raise the voice and awareness of supporting Black moms and children, and other underrepresented members of our community.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

Willow is for all moms, and everyone is welcome at Willow.

At Willow, our mission is to bring joy to motherhood. One of the most extraordinary things about motherhood is the diversity of the experience. Even though all moms are connected through having a child, their experiences of motherhood are vastly unique.

In order to recognize, understand, and support this diversity, we commit to continuously building a more diverse* and inclusive workforce at Willow, with a culture where differences are celebrated and valued. As we engage with the broader world, we commit to supporting all mothers on their unique motherhood journey - understanding the differences in their perspectives, experiences and needs, and actively representing and supporting them.

Our Commitments:

Inside Willow:

1. Build a more diverse workforce:

• While always selecting the most qualified candidates for job openings, sustain male/female ratio and improve underrepresented minority (URM**) diversity
•  Ensure diverse candidate slate by expanding our job posting presence and ensuring at least 2 women and URM candidates for every role
• Quarterly reporting to Willow team and our board of directors

2. Create and support a work environment that is welcoming to a diverse workforce

• Measurement through engagement survey, exit interviews, pulse surveys

3. Anti-racism education campaigns (quarterly at minimum)

Outside Willow:

• Ensure representation in our creative and content
• Help create economic opportunities by partnering with underrepresented mom groups
• Incorporate underrepresented mom groups in our product development process e.g. research groups, feedback panels
• Diversifying the population of moms that we serve
• Educate our existing community of moms of the unique challenges of Black, Latinx and other URM / diverse moms

* We take the broadest possible view of diversity. We value the visible and invisible qualities that make you who you are, including (but not limited to) age, gender identity or expression, race, religion, citizenship, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability status, ethnicity, perspective, or any other aspect which makes you unique.

**URM - Underrepresented minority: Hispanic/Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders