Native Instruments (NI) are determined to demonstrate that recent criticism of their company culture hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. The DJ gear and software company have outlined new areas of focus in a blog post titled “Improving diversity and inclusion at Native Instruments.”
The proposed action is a direct response to a BIPOC former employee’s account of how the company moved forward with a 2017 Maschine promotion even after they voiced concerns about it being problematic. The campaign displayed the stage name of an Angolan artist who goes by “DJ N**** Fox” in a way that they argued tokenized him.
“To our former colleagues: We are deeply sorry for what happened,” reads a passage of the post. “Thank you for all of your contributions to NI despite the challenges you faced while working with us, and for your efforts even now to help make NI better.”
The measures laid out in the post include increasing financial support of NI’s Diversity & Inclusion team, unconscious bias training of their staff, and enlisting independent experts. They also shared plans to implement anonymous reporting and bias tracking in addition to setting aside a budget for donations to racial justice organizations.
“Native Instruments has greatly benefited from Black culture and our diverse community, but we recognize that this is not yet adequately reflected in our practices and make-up as a company,” the post closes out. “We’re fully committed to doing the work to change that and to ensure a safe and welcoming workplace where every person can thrive.”
