Why it Matters that Pinterest Released Their Diversity Numbers

BY Carolyn Lawrence

We all know Pinterest—either as a market-leading visual bookmarking tool, a creative sharing platform, or a place to find a quick dinner recipe (tempting image included).

The “catalogue of ideas,” as CEO Ben Silbermann refers to it, is now spreading inspiration in a whole new way: with the recent release of their global diversity and inclusion stats.

Why is this so bold? Because sharing the numbers makes you accountable.

That’s also why I believe this strategy will work. When Pinterest published their company-wide gender and ethnicity ratios, they accompanied them with a promise to improve, and outlined the specific strategies they’re using to do so.

Over the last five years, I’ve spent a lot of time asking Fortune 500 companies what their numbers are, with regards to diversity.  And despite my knowledge in this area, I’m still surprised when I hear the answers, from “not good” to “regressing” to “we don’t know.”

Of course, we also know that it’s not just a numbers game—filling the pipeline with women won’t solve anything if the culture at the top isn’t intelligent about gender differences and strengths in each diverse group. However, it’s an excellent place to start.

We look forward to watching your progress, and keeping you accountable, Pinterest!

“We’re not close to where we want to be, but we’re working on it.” – Tracy Chou, software engineer and tech lead at Pinterest.

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