When it comes to creating an inclusive culture for women, Canva stands out as a company deeply committed to ensuring that every team member can thrive. The inclusive culture for women at Canva is an integral part of their mission to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.
With a focus on empowering women across all levels, Canva has implemented a range of initiatives. These initiatives aim to foster gender balance, promote equity, and provide a supportive environment for everyone. By sharing their learnings, Canva is paving the way for other companies to follow suit in creating workplaces where women feel empowered, respected, and valued.
Inclusive culture for women at Canva: A gender-balanced team
At the heart of Canva’s inclusive culture for women is their commitment to gender balance. Canva defines this balance as a 40:40:20 ratio—40% men, 40% women, and 20% of all genders, including non-binary and gender-diverse individuals. This deliberate approach reflects Canva’s dedication to building teams that reflect diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
To achieve this balance, Canva has rolled out inclusive hiring processes that focus on skills and values rather than unnecessary requirements such as university degrees. Additionally, every hiring manager undergoes inclusive recruitment training to minimise biases and support candidates through interview adjustments. It ensures an equitable process for everyone.
Early talent programs have also significantly increased representation, particularly in engineering roles. Canva hosts workshops for traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, promotes careers in tech, and offers annual internship and graduate programs to empower early talent.
Thanks to these initiatives, Canva has maintained an overall team composition of 46% women, with significant progress in women engineers and senior leadership roles. In just a year, the number of women engineers grew from 19.5% to 21.2%, and women in senior leadership roles increased from 29.7% to 35%.
Equitable pay and promotion decisions: Addressing the gender pay gap
Another essential aspect of the inclusive culture for women at Canva is their work to ensure pay equity. Canva partners with workplace equity platform Syndio to conduct in-depth pay equity analyses twice a year. This ongoing assessment helps ensure that gender pay equity for like-for-like roles is maintained and identifies any areas of improvement.
In addition to pay equity, Canva has launched Total Rewards education and training on pay equitability. It helps employees understand the factors influencing pay decisions. This level of transparency builds trust within the organisation. Moreover, it ensures that salary, equity, and promotion decisions are made consistently and equitably across the board.
By prioritising gender pay equity and offering clear guidance on pay decisions, Canva is working to close the gender pay gap and promote fairness in all compensation and promotion processes.
Building connection and community: The power of Women@Canva
A sense of belonging is vital in any workplace, and Canva has created spaces where women can feel connected, supported, and empowered. One such initiative is the Women@Canva collective. It is an employee-led group that provides a platform for women and their allies to come together. Through internal events and programming, the collective ensures that women at Canva have the resources and support they need to succeed professionally and personally.
Recently, Women@Canva hosted a month-long series of sessions on various relevant topics. These topics range from maintaining inclusion in everyday work to navigating self-care for chronic illnesses like polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis. These conversations are just one example of how Canva fosters a culture where women can feel comfortable discussing issues that affect their well-being and work-life balance.
In addition to the Women@Canva collective, the company supports other employee-led groups, including the Pride collective and the People of Colour collective. Such campaigns ensure that everyone has access to communities that resonate with their experiences and identities.
Flexible and inclusive policies: Supporting women and caregivers
Flexibility is a key component of Canva’s inclusive culture, particularly for employees who are also caregivers or have accessibility needs. Canva operates without a mandatory office time policy. It allows employees to design their work schedules around what works best for their teams, families, and personal lives. This flexible approach has been invaluable for women who juggle caregiving responsibilities. It provides them with the autonomy to balance work and home life effectively.
Canva’s parental leave policy is another example of its inclusive approach. The company offers 10 days of annual leave in the event of a miscarriage or reproductive loss. This policy has been widely praised for its sensitivity to women’s health needs. This leave ensures that women at Canva can take the necessary time to care for themselves and their loved ones during difficult times.
Empowering women beyond Canva: A global commitment
Canva’s mission to build an inclusive culture for women extends beyond the company’s walls. Through their Two-Step Plan, Canva is committed to creating a positive impact on a global scale. Step One of the plan focuses on building one of the most valuable companies in the world, while Step Two is all about using that value to do as much good as possible.
For example, Canva has partnered with organisations such as She Codes to provide coding courses for women, empowering them to switch careers to software engineering. Additionally, Canva’s collaboration with TwoGood and Dress for Success has supported over 300 women facing homelessness, domestic violence, and trauma, offering workshops on creating resumes and building confidence in their job searches.
Canva also leverages its platform to do good. They provide their premium product for free to over 600,000 nonprofits and 70 million teachers and students. By doing so, they further their mission to empower underrepresented communities around the world.
Conclusion: Inclusive culture for women at Canva – A work in progress
While Canva has made significant strides in creating an inclusive culture for women, they acknowledge that the journey is far from over. The company continues to listen to its employees, learn from their experiences, and evolve its policies and initiatives. They aim to ensure that Canva remains a place where women can thrive.
At Changeincontent.com, we believe in creating inclusive work environments where everyone feels empowered, respected, and valued. Canva’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is an inspiring example of how companies can build a better future for women in the workplace. As Canva continues to grow and adapt, their focus on inclusivity will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on their employees and the broader community.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content, which we define broadly to include media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
