All are welcome at Merapar
At Merapar we are committed to creating an environment where everyone gets a chance to excel and where diversity in all its forms is encouraged and celebrated. Not only do we believe this is the socially responsible thing to do, we know it is good for business too. Research shows companies with an inclusive culture are more profitable and diverse companies are more likely to outperform their competitors. Diverse teams make better decisions and are more innovative.
At Merapar we want our team members to feel like they can bring their full self to work and to celebrate all our differences.
We have ambitious targets for improving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) not only within Merapar but also in the Tech industry as a whole. We know we have some way to go on this journey and many of the challenges are complex and systemic, however we are committed to continuous improvement, inspection and adaptation in line with our core Agile values.
Equal Pay
At Merapar our global analysis shows we pay men and women in the same roles equally, however like all companies in the Tech industry we have a gap between the overall mean average salaries for men and women. We have more men than women in senior technical positions, roles with higher market rates and predominantly male talent pool. There is no quick fix for this problem as it affects the whole industry, however we are committed to monitoring, reporting and reducing this gap through improved representation, retention and career development for women at Merapar.
You can download the Merapar 2021 Pay Gap Report for more in-depth analysis.
We have not historically collected data on ethnicity, however in the future we aim to produce an Ethnicity Pay Gap report.
Recruitment Targets
We believe that quotas are necessary to drive change and measure success. Having quotas doesn’t mean we will hire people that are not the best fit for the role, it simply means we have to try harder to recruit more diversely and in the longer term encourage more people from under-represented groups into technical roles.
We have set the following ambitious targets for new hires in 2022:
| Gender | Ethnicity | |
| Netherlands | 30% Women | 20% Ethnically diverse |
| Poland | 30% Women | See below * |
| United Kingdom | 30% Women | 20% Ethnically diverse |
*Ethnic diversity in Poland is extremely low, therefore we have no specific recruitment targets based on ethnicity
Equitable Hiring
It is important to recognise we all have unconscious biases and to build it into our hiring practices.
- By the end of the first half of 2022 we will require all interviewers to have been on an unconscious bias training course.
- All interviews use scripted questions and written assessments (where appropriate to the role) to improve fairness.
- Written assessments, including coding challenges, are blindly assessed by a panel.
Flexible Working
We make it easier for team members with caring responsibilities or physical disabilities to contribute without having to travel to an office every day. We also adapt our ways of working to support team members with neurodiversities, and those with mental health challenges.
Even before the pandemic, we were pushing the boundaries of established working practices in our industry and working with our clients to increase remote working. Combining the latest remote collaboration tools with Agile organisational methods, we have proven our ability to bring together people from different countries into an effective team, whether they are at home or in the office.
At Merapar we:
- provide all team members with the newest Mac kit, A Pro, 27″ UHD monitor, and we assess options for additional equipment based on each person’s individual needs.
- support flexible working hours and part time contracts, allowing you to meet care commitments, and supporting parents, guardians and carers who want to gradually transition back to work.
- do not have a culture of presenteeism or working overtime; we instead focus on quality and team collaboration, and do not want anyone to suffer from burnout.
Training & Development
We place great emphasis on training and development and believe this is one of the key factors that makes us unique.
Everyone has allocated training hours they can use to study for technical and non-technical certifications, for instance, AWS or Google Cloud Developer, Cloud Architect and Scrum.org Scrum Master or Product Owner. We also encourage team members to run internal Meet-ups and Guilds to ensure knowledge is always shared.
New team members are allocated a Buddy and Mentor, to answer questions, and provide guidance on development and career progression. We have a voluntary scheme pairing team members for regular informal chats, encouraging cross-communication between team members of all backgrounds and levels of seniority.
Looking to the Future
Merapar continues to grow rapidly, investing more year on year into training and development. We will ensure that DEI is at the heart of this expansion and here are some of the things we are already working on:
- Better reporting on Ethnic Diversity
- Mental Health support initiatives
- Improving Social Mobility
- Structured, modular training programme for Graduates and existing team members
- Agile Academy – practice Scrum as part of a team in a one day compressed hands-on learning experience
These initiatives are being driven by members of the DEI working group at Merapar. We encourage any Merapar team member with new ideas or a passion for DEI to join our group and get involved.