Honoring Juneteenth at Instacart

Last year, we announced Juneteenth as an official company holiday moving forward for all corporate employees. For us, Juneteenth is a day to reflect, listen, learn, and engage in critical conversations around racial injustice. At the time, we made commitments to both our Instacart family and the communities we serve, and vowed to increase equitable outcomes in our systems and processes. We chose these commitments based on where we could make the greatest impact, and I’m proud to say we have made progress in these promises. This year, we’re taking the conversation further with an added investment in continuing to lift up Black businesses, while focusing on racial equity work within our organization.

Over the past year, we leveraged internal and external data to invest in Black talent, as well as prioritized employment opportunities for women, Latinx, and Indigenous talent. And we were able to reach over 8,500 Black families experiencing food insecurity through our partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. We’ve come a long way, but we still have much further to go.

In fact, we’re only getting started.

Our approach to diversity, equity, and belonging (DEB) has four key pillars:

• Workforce Equity: Drive equitable outcomes for employees, and future employees, throughout their career at Instacart.

• Workplace Belonging: Optimize for inclusion and belonging. No one should have to code switch at work.

• Responsible Citizenship: Evolve what we’re known for outside our four walls. From our corporate reputation to our commitment to fighting hunger — because food insecurity is a social justice issue.

• Product Inclusion: Design accessible products for everyone, especially our most marginalized users, while uplifting brands from historically underrepresented entrepreneurs.

This year’s Juneteenth observance will focus on the last three pillars over three weeks of programming, lifting up marginalized brands. Starting this week, we’re coming together to advocate, educate, and act.

Advocate

We’re continuing to invest in leveling the playing field for Black-owned businesses with our Ads Initiative. This $1M fund is designed to support Black-owned brands directly within the Instacart marketplace by leveraging our advertising products.

Educate

We’re hosting fireside chats with three Black-owned brand leaders that are part of our Ads Initiative, as well as external speakers that will have an open discussion about racial equity.

As a part of our ongoing racial equity work, our people leaders are also participating in racial equity training with a racial justice advocate with a proven track record of addressing the “why” behind this important work.

Act

On June 22nd we will hold a company-wide Day of Action — a day where we all roll up our sleeves and serve generously by volunteering at local food banks.

We all have a shared responsibility to lean into the opportunities where we can make an impact. This is a journey, and as we acknowledge Juneteenth, we’re reminded that change can be slow. But it’s worth it. And we’re doing our part, one day at a time – to foster a community where we’re comfortable being uncomfortable, while doing the work to level the playing field for marginalized voices and experiences.

Jennifer Sutton

Author

Jennifer Sutton is Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging at Instacart. Sutton joined Instacart in February 2021 and brings over 15 years of diversity, equity, racial equity, and belonging experience across tech and finance industries.