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Diversity Director of Airbnb David J. King III spoke at the CU Boulder Diversity Summit on how and why Airbnb is attempting to create a more diverse work space within the company.
Each year, Airbnb circulates surveys to better understand any concerns that their workers may have regarding diversity. Surveys also serve to find different and new ways to reach guests.
King explained that Airbnb is getting better at creating a community that is free of discrimination on all levels, though it is a hard goal to achieve when working with so many individuals. Currently, those on hiring panels are trained in a way that should eradicate bias during the interview process.
King voiced that the most important part of a person is their story and capability. His talk pointed out that while we need to change how diversity is currently addressed in the work place and help advocate for inclusion, it is a hard thing to do.
“What was important to me was finding a very young, not necessarily based on age, just a ready to learn and captive audience that actually found diversity and belonging as an important construct,” said King.
Lauren Grant, a CU custodian in the audience, said the talk was very informative and opened her eyes to the importance of diversity in the workplace.
Similar ideas were voiced by CU student Tayler Shaw.
“I learned how important it is for companies to hire people from all sorts of different backgrounds,” said Shaw.
Airbnb displays statistics surrounding their employee makeup on their website, along with Employer Information Reports for the past two years.
Contact CU Independent News Staff Writer Makenna Sturgeon at makenna.sturgeon@colorado.edu.
