Tucows

Employee Representation Report

2021

Intentional culture

Diversity is data. Inclusion is culture.

As an organization, Tucows is committed to driving tangible change and impact; from our products to our practices, everything is approached with intentionality.

Our people philosophy is no different. To us, inclusion isn’t a standalone effort; it is intrinsically part of our employee experience, which helps us create a space where our team can proudly and comfortably bring their full selves to work.

The following represents our first-ever public Employee Representation Report, which we are publishing to transparently share our approach to inclusivity and employee experience.

We are committed to evolving in this space and to fostering a best-in-class workplace for our employees today and tomorrow.

Jess Johannson

Chief People Officer, Tucows

What it takes

More than numbers

Diversity isn’t an end goal in itself, but a part of building an intentionally inclusive culture. We believe in data but not benchmarks. We're focused on building environments where our employees can proudly be themselves and bring their whole selves to work.

We’re not perfect and are committed to doing the hard, ongoing work of constantly improving. That’s why we’re sharing this information publicly.

A Venn diagram of Action, Insight, Diversity, Change, Inclusion, and Culture coming together with Inclusive Culture in the center.

The survey specifics

In 2020, we asked the Herd to complete our first exploratory demographic survey. We shared the results of that survey internally in mid-2021. Then in 2021, we asked all members of the Herd to participate in an employee demographic survey that would be shared externally. Participation was optional and 78% of the Herd chose to share. This inaugural employee representation report shares key results for this year, along with our employee experience and inclusion efforts.

We will transparently share these reports every year with both pride and humility. Pride in the work we’ve done, humility from knowing there’s much more to do.

Two men working independantly on adjacent desks

We the herd

The Herd is what we call ourselves.

We're a tight, dispersed group of talented people, all contributing our skills, knowledge and expertise to our shared mission: Making the Internet better.

We’re unique individuals working towards that single, impactful goal together.

Who we are

Of the 78% that participated, here’s how we identified:

Multiple circular diagrams that represent by sizes how the people at Tucows identify. See below list for data.
  • African+
  • Black/African American+
  • Caucasian/White+
  • East Asian+
  • Hispanic/Latinx+
  • Middle Eastern+
  • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander+
  • Person of Mixed Origin+
  • Prefer to self describe
  • South Asian+
  • Southeast Asian+

A note on our methodology: In our reporting, we used the “plus system” (indicated by the + sign) to count multiracial people as a member of all the racial categories they identify with.

How we identify

A donut chart showing the gender identities within Tucows. See following list for data.

Gender identity

  • Man 65.3%
  • Woman 32.7%
  • Non-binary <1%
  • Prefer to self-describe/Do not identify with any of these options <1%

Of the 78% that self-identified:

  • 45.4% are caregivers
  • 28.9% speak a first language other than English
  • 10.6% are members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community
  • 5.7% are neurodiverse
  • 4.6% have a disability
  • 2.3% are veterans
A chart showing the breakdown of various identities within Tucows. See following list for data.

Our leadership

Women

  • Executive 25.0%

    2.5 out of 10 people

  • VP 22.2%

    2 out of 10 people

  • Director/Head 30.8%

    3 out of 10 people

  • Manager/Sr. Manager 34.1%

    3.5 out of 10 people

Non-Caucasian/non-white

  • Executive 43.8%

    4 out of 10 people

  • VP 37.0%

    3.5 out of 10 people

  • Director/Head 18.4%

    1.5 out of 10 people

  • Manager/Sr. Manager 32.1%

    3 out of 10 people

Note: Between 2020 and 2021, Tucows saw a 1% increase in aggregate non-Caucasian/non-white leadership representation and a 3% increase in non-Caucasian/non-white Managers/Sr. Managers.

About the Herd

  • 18
    Countries
  • 1004
    Current employees
  • 3.5
    yr
    Average tenure

Creating an inclusive culture

The how

We believe that diversity without inclusion is futile. Without providing the resources, space and support needed to build inclusive workplaces, then any DE&I efforts will progress nowhere.

This is why we’ve invested heavily in resources that build community and foster inclusivity within our organization.

How we hire

To ensure that open positions reach a diverse applicant pool, Tucows regularly tests specialized job boards to promote roles and uses tools, such as Textio, to remove subliminally biased language from job postings.

How we support

Today, we proudly support seven employee-led resource groups (ERGs). These ERGs provide a safe place for our team members to discuss their shared experiences and support one another.

  • 2SLGBTQ+

  • Black Future

  • Canadian Newcomers

  • Caregivers

  • Equality and Justice

  • Neurodiversity

  • Women’s Leadership

Opportunities to learn

We regularly organize cultural speaking sessions where guest speakers can share their stories, spread awareness of societal issues and discuss actionable changes that the Herd can make.

In 2021 to date, we have welcomed:

We’re building the kind of inclusive workplace we want to be a part of, the kind of space where all are welcomed and encouraged to make their unique contributions. We believe that this will create meaningful, impactful diversity at Tucows.

There’s still lots to do and we’ll always venture to be better.

Land Acknowledgement

2.3% of respondents self-identified as Indigenous. While its workforce is distributed, Tucows acknowledges that it works in and benefits from Indigenous land across Canada and the U.S. We encourage all members of the Herd to understand the history of and revere the land we share.

Our long-standing Toronto headquarters is on Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), Mississauga, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation land.