Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

#DIVERSITYatDigital

We are dedicated to making our company a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment where all individuals— regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, or religious belief—can build their careers.

We believe in hiring the best talent regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, or religious belief. To ensure fair and equitable pay for all employees, we regularly review and evaluate pay equity. Furthermore, we have an affirmative action plan in place to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the qualified applicant pool in the areas where we operate.

Building platforms for employee communities

Our grassroots Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) promote diverse and inclusive cultures, providing opportunities to collaborate and connect with communities at Digital Realty and receive personal and professional development. Our five ERGs seek to foster an environment of trust and support among employees and partners. They are: 

• Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) 

• Veteran's ERG 

• Black ERG (BERG) 

• Digital Pride (LGBTQI+) 

• Digital Voices (Hispanic ERG) 

In 2023, more than 1,000 employees were members of our ERGs. Our ERGs sponsor group-focused events that offer learning and development opportunities, ranging from financial wellness to inclusive language.

Employee engagement 

We use a variety of methods to measure and improve employee engagement, including annual surveys, roundtables with executives and employees, and smaller pulse surveys as needed. These surveys' results are used to create an Engagement Index Report shared with our leadership team. Team leaders are responsible for reviewing results, working with their teams to implement positive changes, and ensuring that these changes are effective in improving engagement.

Our Employee Recognition program celebrates employees who exemplify our company values such as Customer Focus, Teamwork, and Results-Driven. Our awards include Manager Spot Awards, Peer-to-Peer High Five Awards, Quarterly Individual Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Awards, Quarterly Team GEM Awards, and the Annual CEO Circle Awards. 

In 2023, we continued to use a third-party platform to anonymously gather employee feedback and give managers the tools to improve engagement. We conducted an annual survey of all employees to assess engagement and review against industry benchmarks. We’ve seen an increase in overall employee satisfaction with an 84% survey response rate, shedding light on our actionable improvements and areas for continued focus.

Training and development

We support the growth and development of our employees through a comprehensive training and development program. Our Training Policy is designed to enhance individual performance, respond positively to change, and focus on better supporting our customers. 

Our Digital University program offers a range of courses covering areas such as Operations, Legal, Ethics, and Compliance, Management and Leadership, Risk Management, Sales, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Information Security and Privacy. We encourage all employees and contractors to take courses specific to their expertise.  

In 2023, 100% of our employees received training on Cybersecurity, Global Data Privacy, Insider Trading, FCPA, and Anti-Corruption Compliance. Our anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy includes mandatory training for all managers. We extended this training to all U.S. employees and provided unconscious bias, diversity, and inclusion training through our Digital University portal.