Conversations from Women’s History Month at DocuSign

Back in 2020, DocuSign executive Robin Joy shared the story of how an informal dinner group for the organization’s earliest women employees gradually became DocuSign’s first ever employee resource group (ERG): DocuSign Women.

Since then, many people have invested both energy and passion in creating more spaces for women at DocuSign. We now have four ERGs for women and allies around our organization:

• DocuSign Women
• DocuSign Women in Product Development (WIPD)
• DocuSign Women in Solution Excellence (WISE)
• DocuSign Women Account Executives in Sales (WAES)

To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month 2022, we teamed up with some of our newer women’s ERGs to share their amazing work and insights.

Adapting safe spaces for women in remote and hybrid work

In 2020, all of our ERGs needed to revise their programming to pivot to a world where few employees were in offices. Before the pandemic, Women in Product Development (WIPD) focused mainly on hosting events with external speakers, featuring topics ranging from parental leave to making the employment pipeline more accessible.

When DocuSign closed its offices, more members were looking for ways to connect with their peers and their community. So WIPD started a series of watercooler hangouts, providing members with a space on their calendars to take a break from their day to day. Members expressed that the informal talks have been helpful for establishing connections with their peers and community. They also provide a safe space to reach out to DocuSigners in more senior positions to ask for advice regarding their personal development.

The Women in Solution Excellence  (WISE) steering committee also took time to transform and ramp online programming to meet the rapidly changing needs of their members and allies. 

Based on feedback from members, they introduced several new initiatives such as Breathers, a 90-minute block on your calendar, where the first 30 minutes is light, uplifting and non-work discussion, followed by 60 minutes of time for members to meditate, go for a walk, or spend time with children. Speaking of the little ones, WISE also created a virtual event series called WISE Kids, where members and allies came together with their families (and pets!) for kid-approved activities.

Employees that started at DocuSign in a completely remote environment shared that ERG events were where they felt most connected to the organization.

One WISE member shared her experience of her first meeting: “As a new hire, I felt a bit emotional as I listened to the discussion. The comradery, trust amongst everyone and the support shared for one another was very impactful. Thank you."

Learning from peers and sharing feelings of support

Women Account Executives in Sales (WAES) was created out of necessity for human connection and authenticity. In the beginning of March 2020, our Global Sales Kick-Off had just been canceled and offices were closing; women sales leaders and working moms in Sales were struggling to cope with it all. WAES was created as a place for women and allies in Sales to talk about the unique challenges women often face in a sales culture. WAES has since opened up to members across all sales orgs in NA, including SMB, Mid Market, Majors, and Enterprise.

Current members of WAES shared that they have felt supported by seeing other senior female leaders across the business speak up, act and advocate for others. So much of what we say is forgotten, but how we act or how we were treated is clearly remembered. We are all humans and having empathy can go a long way.

For all of our women’s ERGs, members are also excited to have a forum for women to excel at DocuSign in a safe and inclusive environment. On International Women’s Day, the DocuSign Women ERG hosted a #BreaktheBias panel with leaders at DocuSign, like Kim Peretti, GVP of Customer Success Americas and Executive Sponsor of DocuSign Women, Aisling Harney, VP of International FP&A, Cynthia Gaylor, Chief Financial Officer, Iesha Berry, Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer and Rob Giglio, Chief Marketing Officer. The panel focused on giving advice to leaders on the importance of breaking biases and why it’s important for both leaders and allies to drive diversity initiatives.

All of our ERGs have a focus on not just hosting conversations, but building a diverse team in which every member’s background, experience and perspective helps our team win.

Learn more about Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at DocuSign.

This blog was contributed by the leaders of DocuSign Women, DocuSign WISE, DocuSign WAES and DocuSign WIPD.