In America, racism and violence against minorities are causing our black citizens to suffer brutality on a regular basis. As a naturalized American citizen, I have benefited from the promise of freedom and equality in the United States. To see human rights violated in such an egregious manner as we witnessed in the tragic death of George Floyd is a violation of everything this country stands for.
At the same time, a viral pandemic is sweeping the world causing widespread illness and death. The associated lockdown is resulting in serious economic hardship for many in America and the rest of the world. As a startup founder myself, I am especially dismayed about the hundreds if not thousands of entrepreneurial businesses that may have already been destroyed by the pandemic.
Each of us has a duty to do what we can to help end all forms of racism and discrimination. I believe that it is imperative for us as individuals to get involved to create a better future. Inaction at this moment is a form of complicity.
At Aerospike, we firmly stand against racism and inequality. Even though Aerospike is a small company, there are still ways we can make a considerable impact. We have built a company of tremendously talented and dedicated employees over the last 10 years. Aerospike feels that the best way to help is to enable our employees to contribute to social causes most important to them. Therefore, we are empowering our employees with the following company wide initiatives:
Aerospike will match an employee’s donation to a non-profit organization of their choice aligned with diversity, peace, hope, health, or healing.
An employee can use a few paid days every year to spend on their personal efforts to push for change, including participation in peaceful protests and relevant community activities.
Aerospike will reimburse expenses for books and other material that can help us overcome our biases and better understand how we can act to make our society better.
Working in a highly focused and productive startup, Aerospike employees in over half a dozen countries solve challenging world-class problems on a daily basis. Many of the societal problems we’re witnessing today are far more challenging and require that all of us engage in a sustained manner to contribute towards real solutions to these problems in our respective communities. Working together, we can make a difference
.— Srini
