Lob is thrilled to announce that we are joining 10 other companies in Slack’s Next Chapter program. Full announcement can be found here.
Last year, Lob launched its Lob for Good program and recognized Juneteenth as an official company holiday to take action in line with our stance against racial injustice and systemic racism.
We’re grateful to deepen our commitment to this work by partnering with Slack’s Next Chapter program, a 6-month apprenticeship program designed to shift perceptions and bring formerly-incarcerated individuals into high-skilled engineering roles. Our criminal justice system disproportionately affects people of color, especially African-American men who are six times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts. As an employer, we recognize the opportunity to change the stigma around hiring formerly-incarcerated individuals and to create more inclusive policies that allow us to be a more diverse and equitable company.
Two weeks ago, Lob announced our Series C and one of our focus areas is to hire extensively. In addition to growing in numbers, we recognize that this is also an opportunity for us to build inclusive hiring practices that will scale with us as a company.
“The world is not equal, and there is not equal access to opportunity. We are enormously privileged in tech and it is important to use that privilege to take direct action. We are continuing to hire, evolve, and grow as a company and we want to make Lob a place where people with different life experiences feel like they belong. We are invested in creating a supportive environment where the Next Chapter apprentice can establish themselves and gain a new career.”
- Paul Senechko, VP of Engineering
On Tuesday, Lob’s employees gathered virtually for a powerful panel discussion hosted by Slack to kick off our partnership. The discussion was incredibly inspiring, educational, and dove deep into the history and systemic contributors that have led to the mass incarceration of 2.3 million individuals, and the challenges that come as a person works to reenter society.
In partnership with Next Chapter, Lob is committed to providing training and educational opportunities for our employees. To foster ongoing conversation and to bring in more voices across the company, we’ve started a Slack channel for employees to discuss and share resources about criminal justice reform. We’re also exploring other channels like our book club to bring in more literature around the topic.
If you are an organization focused on fighting for racial justice and equity in your work, we offer donated and discounted products through our Lob for Good program and we’d love the opportunity to work with you.
