Okta Releases 2022 State of Inclusion Report

Today, Okta released its third State of Inclusion report, our annual report that brings accountability and transparency into our Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) work. The data provides visibility into our ongoing efforts and holds us accountable to continue creating change.

This year’s report focuses on the progress and impact we’ve made with the initiatives and programs we’ve introduced in previous reports. This report also reflects how our work aligns with our greater brand purpose: To build a world where Identity belongs to you. This purpose drives our product strategy and design, but it is also an important guide for our employee experience and organizational culture. Every employee has a unique identity that needs to be protected and celebrated to ensure they feel they can bring their full selves to work. This alignment also ensures Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Okta is a core part of our corporate philosophy and operations.

Okta experienced tremendous growth in the past year, growing our workforce by nearly 40%. At the same time, we faced economic uncertainty, the ongoing pandemic and resulting challenges, and high levels of burnout. As we’ve grown, despite these challenges, we have been intentional in building and retaining balanced teams across our company. While it’s promising to see the growth and progress of our work, we know we have a long way to go. Read on for key highlights from this year and see the full report for how we’re continuing to make changes for improvement.

By the numbers: Trends and opportunities

Our overall female representation increased from 30.6% to 31.8% since last year’s report. Representation for Black employees in leadership has remained flat since our first report in 2020, as well as Hispanic or Latine representation in leadership. While it’s good to see growth in some areas, we know we need to see growth across the board in order to make real change and create truly balanced teams. 

Workforce development is critical to creating change

Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. This is why it’s important to create equitable opportunities for non-traditional talent to advance into the tech industry. At Okta, we have many Workforce Development Programs and partner with various organizations to recruit nontraditional talent for roles across our company. 

Employee Resource Groups are at the heart of our DIB work

To create balanced teams, every person in an organization needs to play a role. This past year, we’ve engaged our Employee Resource Groups to further integrate our work across the business. We also welcomed two new groups, including the Caregivers Employee Resource Group and Neurodiversity Affinity Group, for a total of eight groups. These groups provide spaces for the unique identities that make up Okta and create opportunities for community, connection, and learning for Okta employees. Okta ERGs and groups include:

• Women@Okta: This group educates, supports, and ultimately improves gender diversity at Okta. This group sponsors speakers, organizes social events and philanthropy programs, and facilitates mentorship and networking. This past year, Okta’s Women@Okta ERG sponsored a Women’s History Month Benevity campaign.
• People of Collective Cultures@Okta (POCC): POCC is a collective voice helping to amplify causes, celebrations, and issues of employees from all ethnicities and cultures individually and collectively. POCC established relationships to deepen partnerships and provide volunteer opportunities in our local communities, including small business support, non-profit sponsorships, and STEM education and mentorship. 
• Pride@Okta: This group is dedicated to championing our LGBTQIA+ colleagues through inclusive policy advocacy, supportive allyship, and worldwide community development where we live, work, and serve. We were excited to participate in our first Pride March in June post-pandemic.
• Vets@Okta: This group connects, serves, and represents veterans and their families at Okta. This year, Vets@Okta donated money to organizations supporting people affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Caregivers@Okta: Provides a support system and resources for all facets of family life, from parents-to-be, to new parents, to dealing with toddlers, tweens, teens, adult children, and aging parents. This group was especially critical as parents faced the many caregiving challenges brought on by the pandemic.
• Neurodiversity Affinity Group: A community of neurodivergent people and families to provide support, community, education, and more, this group launched earlier this year. We look forward to growing it and providing support for families across Okta.
• EMEA and APAC Circles: The Circles are a collaboration of employee resource groups that enable us to collectively drive inclusion and belonging efforts and conversations across teams in different regions. These groups enable us to better coordinate our DIB efforts, share perspectives, and work together to achieve our common objectives. In addition to educating local regions about the work of the ERGs around the world, the APAC circle raised money for Wear It Purple Day, a yearly awareness and visibility campaign supporting LGBTQIA+ youth.

As we get ready to welcome 2023, it’s important that we take a step back to see how far we’ve come, and reflect on what we might do differently in the New Year.

We are committed to being transparent about our progress and taking the necessary steps to improve diversity among our employees and make Okta a place where everyone feels they can bring their whole self to work. 

To learn more about our overall Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging work, view our website here. To join us at Okta, explore open roles on our career page here.