Reflections and the Path Forward Together

A year ago today, the world witnessed the horrific death of George Floyd – a tragic event that caused us to stop, listen and learn, and take action in support of the Black community. Through the grief, we have seen the collective efforts of companies and communities around the world to come together and drive change.

Last June, Adobe launched the Taking Action Initiative (TAI) to accelerate representation, growth, and advancement for the Black community. We set aspirational goals to focus on recruiting underrepresented candidates, updated our Hiring at Adobe program to ensure fair and inclusive hiring practices, created a dedicated talent acquisition team, and deepened our engagement with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to build a more diverse talent pipeline. As part of our growth and development strategy, we joined the McKinsey Black Leadership Academy and we are building a sponsorship program pilot for managers and directors. To raise awareness and build community, we rolled out a companywide “Building Inclusion On Your Teams” training and launched Adobe For All In Action Circles.

We also worked to advance progress outside of Adobe. Knowing that creativity has the power to drive meaningful change in the world, we used our platform to amplify the stories of Black creators with Diverse Voices, Adobe Stock Advocates, and our film, ‘When I See Black.” We advocated for greater U.S. government funding for access to education and have urged the U.S. Senate to take action on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Our Supplier Diversity strategy will create more opportunities to partner with minority-owned businesses. Adobe employees gave their time, talent, and resources to non-profits fighting for racial and social justice – together, we have contributed nearly $5M.

And yet, there is so much more work to do. On this anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, we continue to be reminded daily of the hate, violence, and intolerance around the world because of a person’s ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+ identity, race, or religion. We know of people who fear walking in their neighborhoods. And we know that these issues are complex and personal. We are committed to finding ways to move forward together.

At Adobe, we stand against all acts of hate and intolerance. Creating a diverse, inclusive workplace and society is our collective responsibility, and it is built moment by moment, day by day, person by person through our interactions with each other. I am so proud of our employees’ compassion, collaboration, and ingenuity. Together, we will build on what we have learned over the past year to drive pervasive and lasting change.

#AdobeForAll