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Building Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

As part of our DIB strategy, we track representation metrics against aspirational goals to promote accountability and transparency. Our leadership receives quarterly reports on our progress from our DIB metrics team and work with their HR partners to identify action plans and track progress.

In 2023, our commitment remained steadfast across our DIB strategy. This work is the start of a multiyear initiative, with the upcoming year dedicated to our DIB goals and advancement.

Bringing in an external perspective allowed us to objectively evaluate our progress and identify areas for improvement in our DIB strategy. While the results indicated that our strategy is in line with broader multinational corporate trends, we also identified opportunities to improve our program. This includes updating our performance management approach by implementing bias mitigation strategies during performance assessments.

We also uncovered the need to enhance the cultural humility of both leaders and middle management. While cultural competence emphasizes understanding, cultural humility fosters a genuine curiosity and openness by delving deeper. It encourages individuals to evaluate their own background and assess how their lived experience impacts their work.

Equinix remains committed to holding ourselves accountable to our diversity and representation aspirations. Our vision is to be an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we operate. For women, this means reaching 50% representation globally, and in the U.S., reaching representation of historically marginalized communities that better reflects the U.S. population. As of the July 2021 Census, this number is 13.4% for the Black/African American community and 19% for the Hispanic/Latinx community. We have established interim aspirational goals in 2024 that are aligned with advancing toward this vision.

In 2023, we made strides in increasing gender diversity on a global scale, with our women employee population increasing 17% from 2022 and reaching 27.3% representation globally. In the U.S., our Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx employee populations increased by 14% and 6%, respectively, reaching 7.9% and 14% representation. increased the combined population of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx employees at leadership levels (VP and above) by 33% compared to 2022.

Representation metrics help us better understand the composition of our workforce. Alongside the mandatory employment data collected in each country, our “I Matter” initiative empowers employees to self-identify across additional identities of gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability. A key priority of “I Matter” is ensuring the safety of our global employees. We recognize that some countries have cultural or legal barriers that may prevent certain persons from sharing their identity data. As a result, not all fields are available to self-identify for every country.

In our second year of collecting data, the number of those electing to self-identify increased to 41%, a 6% increase year-to-date. As more employees choose to self-identify, we can better understand our diverse workforce and the experiences of different identities. For example, 6.1% identify as LGBTQ+, with 1.2% being transgender or non-binary. This, in turn, helps to inform and enhance our DIB initiatives.

Equinix’s 2022 Employer Information Report (EEO-1 Component 1, shown below) contains the composition of our U.S. employees (as outlined by the government’s definitions) across race/ethnicity, sex and specific job categories. This EEO-1 Component 1 report captures only the U.S. portion of our global employee base.

Building on the mitigating bias training we conducted in 2022, we evolved our candidate selection approach in 2023 to prioritize the best qualified candidates whose attitudes and aptitudes aligned with our values. This approach underscores a holistic perspective in hiring, ensuring a better fit with organizational values and contributing to a more cohesive workplace culture.

By ensuring our talent acquisition teams represent varied backgrounds and lived experiences, our recruitment practices and perspectives become enrichingly diverse, broadening our view in the hiring process. This enhances our ability to recognize and appreciate a wider array of talents and qualities in potential candidates. In 2023, 38% of our U.S. new-to-career hires were from Hispanic/Latinx and Black communities, a 52% increase from 2022.

Equinix is dedicated to ensuring that our employment process is accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities, at all stages in the process—from candidacy to hire and thereafter. Qualified candidates who require assistance or accommodation are made aware that we offer modifications to the hiring process, if needed, and they are encouraged to make a request. In 2023, we provided training on our updated disability accommodations process and increased awareness to our global HR recruiting and onboarding teams.

Equinix ties executive (VP level and above) compensation to the advancement and achievement of our diversity aspirational goals. This approach reinforces the importance of fostering an inclusive workplace at the highest organizational levels.

In 2022, we refined our Grow, Perform, Succeed (GPS) performance management assessment for VP levels and above by including transformational and inclusive leadership behaviors. We continued to prioritize the accountability of leaders to these behaviors by expanding to director levels, because the adoption of these new criteria aligns our performance standards with the fundamental values necessary for fostering a diverse and thriving workplace.

Our CEO is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace by being a signatory on CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. Equinix is also involved in the CEO Action for Racial Equity (CEOARE) Fellowship; in 2023, we had two employees dedicated full-time to the fellowship’s Closing the Digital Divide team. Our fellows conducted research to address the issue of low adoption of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP is a benefit program that helps households to afford the broadband they need for work, school and healthcare. To tackle this challenge, we collaborated with our product organization to launch a pilot program. This initiative provides free Equinix Internet Exchange® (IX) ports to internet service providers in Texas, New York and Michigan. Connecting to Equinix IX ports provides access to a wide range of content providers and networks. This allows ACP to offer faster, more diverse and affordable connectivity options to underserved communities.

Additionally, through partnerships with external thought leaders, including industry peers, Equinix leverages data and resources to expand its leadership talent. Collaborations with Bright Networks, Hispanics Alliance for Career Enhancement and other organizations connect the company with diverse candidates and communities. These partnerships play a pivotal role in supporting, building and developing diverse leadership within Equinix. Learn more about this work in Attracting and Developing our Talent.

VetConnect partnered with Verizon to host their signature event in honor of Veteran’s Day, where they discussed with a panel how to create inclusive environments for veterans in the technology industry.

As a global organization, Equinix recognizes the need to localize global initiatives so that they are relevant and meaningful to all our employees. To do this, we leverage our WeAreEquinix (WRE) employee engagement program. WRE consists of volunteer-led employee teams focused on building culture and community locally at Equinix’s locations around the globe.

WRE brings together the full power of five global programs—Community Impact, DIB and EECNs, Fun & Creativity, Green & Sustainability, and Wellbeing—to provide WRE volunteers with the resources they need. In 2023, we had 38 WRE teams with over 450 volunteers leading local initiatives to cultivate belonging, service, sustainability and fun, while bringing employees together across identity, function and level. WRE teams strengthen local connections between Equinix colleagues, and, in return, we can accelerate a future where everyone across the globe can confidently say, “I’m safe, I belong, and I matter.”