Bulletins

Autodesk will pay ERG leads $10K annually

Andrew Anagnost smiling in the foreground. 3D design rendering of a building in the background.

Autodesk, led by CEO Andrew Anagnost, will now pay its employee resource group leaders.

Image: Autodesk

Software company Autodesk recently announced it will give a $10,000 annual bonus to employee resource leaders.

Autodesk joins the likes of companies such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Slack and others that compensate their ERG leaders.

"It isn't easy to put a price tag on the benefits our ERG leads bring to Autodesk," Rita Giacalone, global head of culture, diversity and belonging at Autodesk, wrote in a blog post. "Their work is invaluable and they are a vital part of the fabric that makes Autodesk a great place to work."

At Autodesk, Giacalone said the Black ERG, in particular, helped the company "examine existing policies and practices" in light of last year's racial justice protests.

ERGs can function as a safe space for employees with similar backgrounds to connect and support each other. Sometimes, however, companies can use ERGs to undermine efforts to affect real change in the workplace.

Megan Rose Dickey

Megan Rose Dickey is a former senior reporter at Protocol covering labor and diversity in tech. Prior to joining Protocol, she was a senior reporter at TechCrunch and a reporter at Business Insider.

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