With Juneteenth right around the corner, many organizations, including Glassdoor, are deciding to recognize the day as a corporate holiday. Historically, it is a nationally known day as the end of slavery. On June 19, 1865, enslaved Black people in Texas were finally told they were free — two months and ten days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Enslavers had never bothered to tell them that slavery was officially over in 1863; it took Union General Gordon Granger riding into Galveston with 2,000 federal troops to share the news. Therefore, June 19th or “Juneteenth” is the day that many Black Americans celebrate freedom or independence day.
Although institutional racism and inequities are still prevalent in the United States, Juneteenth marks a critical moment in America’s history. Given the recent examples of racial injustices with the murders of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahamud Arbery, and Black Trans women, Riah Milton and Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells, among many others, companies are making efforts to take a stand against racial inequalities and police brutality by supporting their Black employees by making Juneteenth as a company holiday. Companies like Twitter, Target, Square, Nike recently announced that they’re making Juneteenth a corporate holiday. Although recognizing Juneteenth as a corporate holiday is a significant first step in honoring that Black employees do matter, there is much more to be done.
Additional ways for companies to show their support and commitment for their employees could be not shying away from open and transparent conversations about racial inequalities in and out of the workplace and providing growth/mentorship opportunities for Black employees, Black women in particular.
View some companies who are honoring their Black employees by now acknowledging Juneteenth as a company holiday.
Open Roles: Director of Engineering – Customer Engagement, Marketing Operations Manager, Senior Program Manager, Sales Strategy & Analytics, Senior Solutions Engineer (Mid-Market), Manager, Growth Accounts & more.
What Employees Say: “I have now worked for 5 different companies and Twilio is by far the best. While most companies talk a big game about caring for their employees, Twilio actually means it and backs it up. Especially during COVID-19, Twilio has been going above and beyond to make sure that as employees, we feel included and valued. The career trajectory and culture alone make this an awesome culture to work for. Plus, the perks are pretty good too.” -Current Employee
CEO Statement: “A day for celebration, education, and connection.” – CEO, Jack Dorsey
Open Roles: Localization Project Manager, Senior Data Analyst, Staff Software Engineer – Backend (Tweet Services), Group Product Manager – Health, Senior Software Engineer – Cache & more.
What Employees Say: “Great vision, transparent leadership, collaborative culture, diversity.” -Current Employee
Open Roles: Product Analyst, Growth Marketing, Machine Learning Engineer, Conversations, Suspicious Activity Reporting Lead, Cash, Head of Direct Customer Support, North America, Product Manager, Business Operations Platform & more.
What Employees Say: “Company culture: the culture at Square is amazing and one of my favorite things about this company. People take the time to get to know others and constantly have check-ins with people across different departments.” -Current Employee
CEO Statement: “We recognize that the racial trauma the country is experiencing now is not new, but throughout recent weeks there has been a sense that this time is, and has to be, different,” Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said in a press release. “Juneteenth takes on additional significance in this moment. Moving now to recognize it on an annual basis—as a day to celebrate, further educate ourselves or connect with our communities—is one more important action Target can take as a company to help the country live up to the ideal of moving forward in a new way.”
Open Roles: Guest Advocate (Cashier or Front of Store Attendant), Specialty Sales (Style, Beauty or Tech), Seasonal: Fulfillment, General Merchandise, Inbound (Stocking), Guest Advocate (Cashier), Overnight Inbound (Stocking) & more.
What Employees Say: “Actually cares for employees, flexible, good comp for the basic retail industry.” -Former Employee
Open Roles: Software Engineer, Administrative Business Partner, Cloud Technical Solutions Engineer, Platform, Cloud Technical Solutions Engineer, Networking, Product Manager, Google Cloud & more.
What Employees Say: “Great pay, benefits, office perks, and work environment. awesome people. interesting clients to work with. good balance of independence.” -Current Employee
CEO Statement: “Starting this year, we’re making Juneteenth an official holiday at Lyft,” the tweet said. “It’s one step in our ongoing journey toward racial equality at Lyft, and in this country.” -CEO, Logan Green
Open Roles: Lyft Driver (Part-Time/Full-Time), Engagement Marketing Ops Specialist III, Facilities Manager, Software Engineer – All Teams, Data Scientist, Decisions, Supply Chain Operations Manager & more.
What Employees Say: “People, culture, great vibe, very collaborative, inclusive.” -Former Employee
CEO Statement: “At Nike, Inc., we aspire to be a leader in building a diverse, inclusive team and culture. We want to be better than society as a whole,” Donahoe said in the letter, adding that celebrating Juneteenth is an opportunity “to better commemorate and celebrate Black history and culture.”
What Employees Say: “Employee Benefits and product discounts are good.” -Former Employee
CEO Statement: “Starting today Postmates will observe Juneteenth as a permanent company holiday,” he wrote on Twitter. “Not just in response to the moment—but to allow all of us time to reflect on the Black American experience (from 1619 to today) & the actions required to move forward together.”
Open Roles: Software Engineer, Backend, Director, Business Operations (Growth & Strategy), Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Battery Management System, Business Strategy Analyst, Director of Procurement & more.
What Employees Say: “You get to work with brilliant individuals, without the ego aspect. There is a great amount of ownership at Postmates, and you truly get to grow your career here. One year here feels like 3, in a positive way. You get to see the impact of your hard work; your work is actually meaningful.” – Current Employee
Open Roles: Product Manager – Personalized Listening Experience, Backend Engineer – Infrastructure, Senior Data Scientist – Advanced Marketing Analytics / Content, Data Scientist – Machine Learning Platform, Client Partner, Audio Line Producer, Parcast & more.
What Employees Say: “The work-life balance is excellent. Upper management is transparent and honest. Compensation is good (but not as good as other big tech companies). The NYC office is beautiful and the food program has gotten so much better over time.” -Current Employee
CEO Statement: “We encourage employees to spend it in a way that allows them to stand up against racism, whether that’s by learning, participating in a community action, or reflecting on how to make change.” – CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
Open Roles: Delivery Partner – Weekly Pay, Delivery Partner – Uber Eats, Part-Time Delivery – Uber Eats, Delivery Partner – Weekly Pay, Part-Time Delivery – Uber Eats & more.
What Employees Say: “I am consistently amazed by the caliber of work my peers produce. It’s an exciting environment to work in, and I’m learning every day. The best part of the job is that you are able to see the impact of your decisions in the market.” -Currently Employee