Back in June, we made headlines after Forbes recognized Carvana as one of the Best Employers for Diversity in 2023. So, we sat down with members of IDEA – an employee-led community dedicated to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility and asked them about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We also spoke with several community leaders about diversity in the workplace – what it means, where we’re at, and the opportunities for us to grow.
What Is Diversity? What Can DEI Do?
“We hear these words a lot, and they’ve become buzzwords. When your organization is really focused on DEI, you see it every day in the policies, in the people around you. When we think about uplifting marginalized communities that include people of different races, ages and sexual orientations, abilities, genders – DEI means representing and uplifting people in those marginalized groups.
Let’s say that you have a team of three people and all three of those people came to Carvana from Starbucks. All three of those people know exactly how to run a business from the experience they’ve had at Starbucks. But now, let’s say that one of them comes from Target, one of them comes from Starbucks, and one of them comes from owning their own business. All of a sudden, you have a really diverse understanding of how a business can work, and that drives innovation.” – Adie, IDEA Leader.
“Diversity also helps us recognize where people are different from us – not just how people’s experiences are different, but also how their brains work differently. How their personal lives may affect the work that they’re bringing in every day. It takes a little bit of intentional practice and it’s something that we have to be more comfortable with keeping at the center of the conversations we have.” – Kay, IDEA Leader.
“It’s really important to continue that conversation. Diversity doesn’t ever go away, and it’s something that we really want to stay away from making into a buzzword. We want to make it a reality. We want to make it the facts. We wanna make it like the truth here. So keeping it at the forefront, that’s the priority.” – Ed, IDEA Leader.
Why Is Diversity in the Workplace Important?
“When I started working for Carvana, I had the pleasure of working with Kay really early on at the Philly Vending Machine. Kay really had a huge impact on those initial conversations with me – making me realize that you don’t have to hide who you truly are in order to be professional.
It’s a matter of – you know, you can be your genuine self and still put in good work. You can still have a great good work ethic. You can still put out professionalism and be a hundred percent version of yourself. And I think that wasn’t something that I really learned until having these conversations and working at a place that was so willing and open to have those conversations.” – Ed.
“I think what made me like really start to think about the importance of diversity – I remember being actively engaged in DEI work when I was transitioning from a Customer Advocate into a Senior Advocate position or leadership position, and my manager at the time asked us a series of questions to help us reflect and make that transition a little bit easier. One of the things she asked was, “What do you want to be known for?” And that was kind of my first touchstone of ‘ I really want to cultivate diversity here, in my hub.” – Kay.
“The biggest part for me about diversity in the workplace is not only having a place where I feel like I belong, but also creating a space where other people can feel like they belong and learning about them – their culture, their processes, their background – and understanding where they come from. Even though our experiences could be completely different, we all want to be understood, we all want to be included, and that’s really where the heart of DEI work is.” – Adie.
“I’ve heard so many stories – especially from the people that I looked up to – about how diversity inspired them to be more and do more and realize what they were capable of. That’s something that I try to reflect on being in a leadership role, is trying to connect people so that they can really see what’s possible. Being in a leadership role and having the privilege to facilitate so many conversations and connections between people by hiring diversely and coaching people through those kinds of interactions and the discomfort that comes from learning about people’s differences – that’s where my passion for DEI comes from, just being able to do that.” – Natalie, IDEA leader.
How Can Leaders Create a Diverse Workplace?
“There’s a level of knowing they shouldn’t always assume that people who look like them are the best for the role. Sometimes, it’s not easy for leaders to connect with people who don’t look like or have the same experiences as them, because they don’t recognize things outside of themselves. It’s important for leaders to recognize – as a leader, you should be able to understand and reflect all aspects of your team because that reflects how the world is.
The outside world influences the job. It’s about recognizing what’s going on outside of Carvana and making sure that they’re sensitive to the people who are affected by real-world events. Leaders need to recognize what’s going on outside no matter what it looks like inside of our bubble, to acknowledge the everyday things that are happening to members of their team.” – Tennah, Carvana Community Leader.
“I’ve seen first-hand that when leaders support diversity in the workplace, it helps us support one another both internally and externally much better. Our workforce is diverse and so are our customers, so we really need to foster an environment where people feel comfortable to bring in unique perspectives, where we can all learn from people’s shared – but different – experiences, and create a better sense of community at work and for those we serve outside of the company.” – Kristi, Carvana Community Leader.
“Creating a safe space and encouraging individuals to bring their full authentic selves to work every day directly supports inclusion and diversity. Leaders can not only verbally acknowledge the importance of DEI in the workplace, but also engage and ally with internal teams like Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to amplify awareness, resources, and participation. By doing so, we build an internal culture that functions by first principles from top down to introduce new ideas, relationships, and products that meet the needs of the every day customer. When employees feel included, valued, and respected, they are more likely to be engaged and satisfied with their work. This increased sense of belonging has real business impact that could be measured in employee morale, productivity, and retention. Recruiting diverse talent, encouraging all voices to speak up, and advocating for equitable policies are all ways that leaders can sponsor, champion, and inspire.” – Kyle Hwang, AAPI ERG Lead.
Diversity Isn’t an Arrival, It’s a Process
“Our experiences, beliefs, and values shape who we are today. No one will truly understand another person’s lived experience unless they have been in their exact shoes. Diverse backgrounds bring together a wealth of resources to create empathy and question the status quo. Beyond structural barriers that may exist in or out of the workplace, there are also more subtle, unspoken barriers that ultimately may hold employees from reaching their full potential. These unspoken barriers may stem from a common culture, interest, or characteristic. ERGs like Carvana Communities facilitate affinity groups where spaces of commonality and support can be fostered to bring about positive change.
In a rapidly changing world, we need to be adaptable and flexible. Open curiosity can lead to new understanding and new ways of thinking. Diverse teams generate a wide range of ideas, strategies, and approaches. In turn, this allows people to better address needs, challenges, and opportunities in our globalized society.” – Kyle.
“There has to be a more conscious effort to include people in the conversations, especially when they don’t look like you. I feel like the value and the input that those people have are so much deeper because of what they had to go through just to get where they are.
Part of leadership now –, and it may not have been like this before, but part of leadership now – is recognizing that if you do have diverse people on your staff, knowing that there are outside forces are still affecting them, whether you see it in their everyday work – and always just being aware of that.
My hope is to see more people that look like me in more executive roles within the company.” – Tennah.
