Introducing Intuit’s Indigenous Peoples Network

Today marks International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples day–a day to elevate awareness and protect the rights of Indigenous communities around the world.  After experiencing a year of many unprecedented events for our underrepresented communities, this year’s World Indigenous Peoples Day has brought new learnings, conversations and goals to the forefront not only for

Headshots of three members of the Indigenous Peoples Network
Headshots of three members of the Indigenous Peoples Network

Today marks International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples day–a day to elevate awareness and protect the rights of Indigenous communities around the world. 

After experiencing a year of many unprecedented events for our underrepresented communities, this year’s World Indigenous Peoples Day has brought new learnings, conversations and goals to the forefront not only for myself but for all of Intuit. While we’ve made progress, we must continue to do more. Especially regarding employing and retaining a greater percentage of Black, Hispanic or LatinX, U.S. Indigenous (Native American, Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian) employees across all levels of the company, as we’ve included in our company’s True North Goals. 

We know we can’t reach these goals alone, and for us to truly understand the needs of our underrepresented communities, we must take the time as allies to listen and learn. 

I’m excited to keep the learning going and continue building stronger allyship through our newest employee resource group (ERG), the Intuit Indigenous Peoples Network

The Intuit Indigenous Peoples Network officially launched after CEO Sasan Goodarzi called out Native Americans as an example of a community to recruit more actively during a State of the Company. After a number of conversations and completing a pilot period, the Intuit Indigenous Peoples Network is now over 100 members strong and growing. 

With the mission to call forth, encourage, and lift Indigenous employees and their allies at Intuit, the Indigenous Peoples Network is focused on four priorities: 

  • Establish and build a global platform and community for Indigenous employees and allies at Intuit to have visibility, voice, and space to bring their whole selves to work
  • Support recruiting efforts to bring Indigenous people to Intuit
  • Highlight our indigenous customers and partners for awareness, engagement, and support
  • Lastly, determine the needs of, and support, our local Indigenous communities

Last October, the group connected on Indigenous Peoples Day (US)–also known as Columbus Day–for a coast-to-coast land acknowledgment. Each person acknowledged the people whose lands where they were at that moment and in November, the still-unofficial group (at that time) sponsored a Virtual Prosperity Pop-up with Prados Beauty, an online beauty product shop owned by QuickBooks and TurboTax customer Cece Meadows. They also found ways to come together virtually in solidarity after news of the genocides coming to light in North America this year. 

Global in Nature
Because most of Intuit’s workplaces occupy lands of Indigenous peoples, the ERG advocated for global reach right from the start. On the Australian continent, Aboriginal peoples have a long history of displacement and genocide, once peoples and powers from other places colonized their lands. In Brazil, the Amazon basin includes at least a dozen unique Indigenous peoples, from the Arakmbut to the Xavante. In the United States, Canada, and Mexico, of course, Intuit’s offices sit on the unceded lands of tribes like the Ohlone (Mountain View), the Tohono O’odham (Tucson), and others. Equally important, however, is the fact that dozens of Intuit employees identify as Indigenous or feel connected to the Indigenous community. 

Our Intuit Indigenous Peoples Network is one of 12 employee resource groups at Intuit — our employees do not have to be Indigenous to join, just interested in being an ally to the Indigenous community. Our employee resources groups and their members help lay the foundation for a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, while also helping to build understanding, empathy and capability for all of our employees and customers around the world.

I’m personally excited to observe the day by gaining a better understanding of Indigenous issues around the world and the contributions they’ve made by uplifting Indigenous voices right here at Intuit.

Sheldon Cummings

Sheldon Cummings is our Chief Operating Officer for Mailchimp. Before stepping into his leadership role at Mailchimp, he had a dual role as a leader within Intuit’s sales organization and served as our Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO). Since joining Intuit in 2017, has led a number of leadership positions across our Sales, Marketing, Global Partnerships, and Global Operations teams.

Sheldon grew up in New York City, graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Sociology and African-American Studies, and received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with concentrations in Marketing, Finance, and Strategy.