Our Approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Being intentional with our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) at Paychex is a commitment we must adhere to for our employees, clients, and stakeholders. Our leadership, both at board and management level is committed to DEI.
Our DEI Action Plan
A Systemic Approach to Inclusion and Diversity
- In a FY22 Fortay Behavioral Assessment administered to 88 Paychex leaders, 81% of them scored as inclusive leaders
- Developed Inclusive Leadership lessons within our Sales organization via unfreezing meetings by creating a DEI Leadership Guide to empower leaders to lead in a more inclusive manner
- Added DEI-focused learning material that is readily available to all employees
Building a Culture of Inclusion
- Continuous development of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to align with Paychex culture and values
- Leveraging our Inclusion & Diversity Ambassadors and Culture Champions to drive belonging, learning opportunities, and sustainability of DEI efforts
- Launching multiple cross-cultural mentoring, sponsorship, and advocacy learning programs
- Introduced new client-facing training Leading Inclusive Organizations led by DEI-trained Client HR Business Partners coupled with other DEI resources available to clients on demand
Supporting Strategic Community Partnerships
- Grew recruiting partnerships that include organizations with diverse applicant pools (for example, historically Black colleges and universities)
- Created curriculum for local Rochester-area high schools to introduce students to the job market and career pathing
- Actively seeking new opportunities to give back locally in our employees' communities, including our ongoing partnership with the United Way
Employee Resource Groups and Networking Communities
Our Employee Resource Groups are aligned to our Diversity Strategy by helping to facilitate live employee panel events, providing leadership valuable insight, and supporting conversations that empower our employees to connect and support our DEI efforts at Paychex. All groups are open to employees that identify with that group and allies. In addition to Employee Resource Groups, other communities include our Inclusion & Diversity Book Club, Inclusion & Diversity Email Community, and Women In Leadership at Paychex on LinkedIn.
Be Here Now
Be Here Now is a multi-cultural group where employees have candid, challenging conversations where participants are challenged to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
The Rainbow Alliance
The Rainbow Alliance is a safe space to share, listen and learn while supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Women's Alliance
The Women's Alliance is dedicated to providing all employees at Paychex opportunities to connect, collaborate, grow, and develop their knowledge on all topics related to women in the workplace.
The Veteran's Alliance
The Veteran's Alliance is open to veterans, current members of the military, and anyone who has active or inactive military members in their lives. It is a safe space to listen, learn, and build connections.
Board-level Responsibility
Chairman and CEO Martin Mucci is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity & InclusionTM pledge. This pledge demonstrates how DEI are top priorities at the company and exemplifies the support from Paychex leadership. The Nomination and ESG Committee of the Board of Directors Governance has oversight of the company’s DEI strategies.
Management-level Responsibility
Paychex has a team dedicated to DEI. It is led by the Director of DEI and Employee Experience. The team recently launched a new DEI & Employee Experience website where employees can join our Employee Resource Groups, read monthly messages from our Director of DEI & Employee Experience, see our DEI strategic roadmap, and become a Paychex culture champion. Some other key focus areas include:
- A commitment to operationalizing DEI by requiring business units across the company to align DEI initiatives to their business goals.
- Monthly internal awareness campaigns for various DEI-related topics.
- Creating an Executive Council to direct DEI efforts via strategic taskforces to move DEI initiatives throughout the organization.
Inclusion and Diversity Training
Incorporated into every new hire’s onboarding curriculum, the Paychex Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) training curriculum introduces employees to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) concepts and reinforces the company's commitment to growing and retaining a workforce that represents the diversity of our clients. The four-part series includes modules on: Defining Inclusion & Diversity, Leveraging Inclusion in the Workplace, Mitigating Bias in the Workplace and Communicating and Connecting Around I&D. The training is Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) & Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) accredited and includes audio of actual employees sharing their experiences.
Forbes 2022 Best Employers For Diversity
Paychex was included on Forbes magazine’s 2022 list of the Best Employers for Diversity. To determine the ranking, Forbes partnered with Statista and surveyed 60,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees to pinpoint the companies they identified as most dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Forbes Best Employers for Women 2022
To compile the list, Forbes partnered with Statista and surveyed 50,000 Americans— 30,000 women and 20,000 men working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees to share their thoughts on working conditions, diversity, and how likely they’d be to recommend their employer to others. Statista then asked female respondents to rate their employers on factors such as parental leave, discrimination, and pay equity and to nominate organizations in industries outside their own. The final list ranks the 400 employers that received the most recommendations.
Diversity by the Numbers
- 53% of leadership roles within Paychex are held by women
- Paychex increased racially diverse hires by 13 percentage points since FY19 (31% to 44%)
- Our EEO-1 report for calendar year 2021 is available for download
