If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
Those well-known words underscore the work we do here at Ruby. We believe that building a thriving business starts by building lasting relationships with the people you serve—hastening your own success by helping others do the same.
But this emphasis on personal connections goes beyond our mission of supporting small businesses. It’s also the cornerstone of our commitment to supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within our organization.
That’s because our success is directly tied to the personal and professional success of our people. We’ve seen other companies start similar journeys with the best of intentions, only to pause in place when priorities shift. However, we don’t see EDI as a box to check or a quota to meet—we see it as the foundation of all our future achievements.
In other words, we want all of us to go farther, together.
At Ruby we’re committed to “earning our words”, particularly when we’re referring to our EDI work. We’re in year two of our EDI five-year plan, and although we’ve seen a loss of momentum in the EDI landscape over the last year, we remain steadfast in achieving our long-term goals. Here’s how.
Where we are: our EDI commitments and current initiatives
Our current EDI journey started in 2021 with a list of commitments designed to make Ruby a more open and inclusive place for everyone by:
- Evolving our equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Increasing BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and underrepresented groups’ representation at all levels of Ruby
- Continuing EDI education throughout our organization
- Recognizing, promoting, compensating, and administering benefits equitably
- And championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in our community through philanthropy, on-the-ground support, and amplifying voices
To realize these commitments, we’ve put together training programs that not only cover the history and purpose of equity, diversity, and inclusion, but guides people through understanding their own identities, journeys, and self-development opportunities.
We do things like interactive exercises, group discussions, and self-reflection—making sure everyone feels safe to share perspectives and experiences in the ways most authentic to them. At the end of the training, we focus on what we can do now, emphasizing acknowledging where we’re at on our EDI journey, accountability, and ways we can take action.
Today, we’re happy to share that more than 90% of our entire Ruby team has had the opportunity to create community and learn by completing our EDI:101 training session.
We’ve also introduced several initiatives to support and expand our ongoing EDI work, including:
- Heritage month and Pride celebrations
- An equity steering committee
- A multicultural marketing plan
- More inclusive healthcare benefits for all
The future of EDI at Ruby
We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far in our EDI journey—but there’s still plenty of work to be done. Equity, diversity, and inclusion will always be more than a “lens” used for moments in time. It will continue to be part of our DNA, playing a critical role in how we do business—where we spend our time, how we spend our money, who we partner with, and when we allocate our resources.
Transparency is a big part of the process. That’s why we’re going to start providing regular updates like this to help our customers, our employees, and our community stay in the loop—and to help keep ourselves accountable. In the meantime, you can check out a breakdown of Ruby’s long-term EDI-related focus areas here.
We’re so excited to share more about Ruby’s EDI journey with you in the weeks and months to come. Follow along with us here and over on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter for more!
