August 5, 2025
August 5, 2025
It was the end of 2016 and diversity issues were a topic of national conversation. Donald Trump had just been elected President, and a polarizing political climate brought racial, gender equality and LGBTQ issues to the surface. The diversity and inclusion (D&I) conversation was also gathering steam in the workplace, with major tech companies making the business case for a more diverse workforce — pointing to increases in productivity, engagement, retention and profitability.
Collaboration software maker Atlassian wasn’t satisfied with the metrics being used to define diversity progress across the tech industry, and approached Mission North with a formidable challenge: to position Atlassian as a leading voice in D&I and change the tech diversity conversation from one of broad, cross-company benchmarks to team-level measurement.
To succeed, we knew we needed data.
Changing the Tech Diversity Narrative with Data
So much had been written about how companies were approaching and measuring diversity, but there was very little evidence about how the average tech worker felt about progress in their workplace. Mission North designed and executed the 2017 State of Diversity Report to provide the first temperature check on diversity from the employee perspective.
The survey of 1,400 U.S.-based tech workers focused on their sentiments toward diversity progress, the impact of diversity programs on their teams, and President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity election promises (e.g., curbs on immigration and a ban on transgender people in the military).
Here are a few highlights from the report:
Shifting the Conversation About D&I Measurement
We were surprised by the findings — and so were the media. Tech workers who responded to the survey said they value diversity, but didn’t have a clear idea about what progress in D&I would look like. We leveraged the results to secure 25 unique articles/broadcast hits including features in Bloomberg, Fortune, Forbes and Fast Company.
The data also led to the publication of this compelling WIRED byline, centered on our primary goal — changing the conversation on tech diversity measurement and positioning Atlassian as a company committed to changing the narrative about D&I in tech among its employees, customers and future talent.
You can read the full case study here.
