Adobe for all week 2024 — Unleashing the power of our collective belonging
At Adobe, we’re proud to have built a company where our greatest strength is our people, and we continuously strive to cultivate a workplace culture where they can flourish. This week, we bring our global community together to celebrate our annual Adobe for All Week — a unifying moment dedicated to celebrating our mission, our purpose, and the diverse perspectives that make Adobe an exceptional place to work and fuel the innovations that propel our company, industry, and ultimately, our world, forward.
Adobe for All embodies our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across Adobe and our communities because when people feel respected and included, they’re empowered to do their best work, drive change, and innovate.
Inclusion fuels innovation
Each year, as we reflect on shared responsibility to build a more equitable workplace, we unleash the power of our collective belonging to drive meaningful impact. Storytelling is a cornerstone of our Adobe for All programming. Each year, we invite employee storytellers to take the stage to share dynamic stories and unique perspectives that inspire our community to learn, grow, and deepen empathy. This year, we’re amplifying our focus on how we transform our collective empathy into action in our daily work at Adobe.
Our product and Ethical Innovation teams leverage feedback from our customers and employees insights to infuse inclusivity into our most innovative products through features like Acrobat AI Assistant. Developed with community input and an emphasis on responsible innovation, Acrobat AI Assistant has transformed how users interact with PDFs and other documents. It enables faster, access to information, enhances productivity by summarizing meeting transcripts, and highlights key findings in lengthy reports, exemplifying how our inclusive workplace ignites practical solutions that enhance productivity and streamline processes.
Throughout Adobe for All week, Adobe’s Acrobat team will illustrate how they identify and address the potential for harmful bias in Acrobat’s AI assistant in partnership with our Ethical Innovation team dedicated to developing AI technologies in a responsible way that respects our customers and aligns with our values.
Unlocking pathways to success for future changemakers
As technology evolves at a rapid pace, developing creative and digital skills is becoming more crucial than ever for career readiness. However, many future changemakers from underrepresented backgrounds face barriers and challenges to opportunity. Since 2021, Adobe and the Adobe Foundation have taken bold steps to address educational inequities and promote diversity in the tech and creative industries.
Partnering with Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) Bowie State University, San Jose State University, and Winston-Salem State University, as well as career readiness nonprofits, we harness the full power of Adobe to provide products and, in partnership with the Adobe Foundation, access to scholarships, mentorship, and career development opportunities to students from underrepresented backgrounds.
“As a creative, it is invaluable for students to have access to applications such as the Adobe Creative Suite. My ability to access Adobe applications throughout my time as an SJSU student has enabled me to enhance my projects.”
- Tammy Cao, SJSU Braven Fellow.
Building on this foundation, today, Adobe and the Adobe Foundation announced an expansion of our support of nonprofit organizations who share our commitment to MSIs. We are granting an additional $1 million to Bowie State, Winston Salem State, and San Jose State to support student and faculty services, professional development, research and more. Additionally, the Adobe Foundation is increasing our grants to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, an organization dedicated to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Braven, a national nonprofit organization offering career education for low-income and first-generation undergraduate students.
“We are excited about our continuing partnership with Adobe as its first HBCU Adobe Creative Campus. In a tech-driven society, it’s essential that we provide the best resources to our students, faculty and staff to add additional tools to their skillset, and Adobe is assisting us through their revolutionary and wide range of products.”
- Bonita Brown, Chancellor, Winston Salem State University.
Adobe has always sought unique ways to support communities navigating obstacles to achievement. From the Student Athlete Micro-Internship, which gives emerging student leaders with athletic backgrounds real-world project experience, to the Digital Academy, a modern apprenticeship for career switchers and nontraditional tech and creative job seekers.
Adobe is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) to strengthen support for tribal colleges and universities and empower Indigenous students on their journey towards education and STEM careers. Alongside AISES, we hope to create more pathways for indigenous college students to build digital literacy skills, enhance their leadership skill, and ultimately increase indigenous representation in STEM careers.
Extending our commitment through the Equity and Advancement Initiative (EAI)
As part of our commitment to Adobe for All , we’re determined to lead and shapea more equitable world, and through our Equity and Advancement Initiative (EAI), the Adobe Foundation has partnered with 11 nonprofit organizations to the address social and racial justice issues important to our employees, customers, and the communities we serve.
“Our experience working with Adobe Foundation, compared to other funders, is superior. The Adobe Foundation is responsive, structured, flexible, and accountable.“ – Outright International.
To date, the Adobe Foundation has donated $30 million to this cohort of organizations, and Adobe has donated our world-class suite of products to help these nonprofits advance their missions. While our original three-year commitment is set to conclude this fall, the transformative impact of our partnership has inspired the Adobe Foundation to share its intent to support an additional fourth year, providing $5 million in continued funding to the cohort. EAI exemplifies Adobe and Adobe Foundation’s holistic, trust-based approach to corporate philanthropy, where we address the unique needs of our nonprofit partners by trusting organizations to know the needs and values of their community and matching our people, products, and platform to support their missions and build strong, lasting relationships.
“The donated Adobe product has been utilized on a near-daily basis by 70+ users across our entire organization in the past year. Adobe was able to make some helpful suggestions as to how to address some of the weaknesses with the current tools we use on the Communications team. These Adobe product donations are utilized in the early stages of and throughout nearly every visual investigation conducted by HRW’s Digital Investigations Lab team.”
Leaders from our Equity and Advancement cohort come together for the annual convening of partners to collaborate and engage with across organizations and Adobe. Image Credit: Ellen Gardner.
Our commitment has always been driven by the passion and dedication of our employees, who played a key role in selecting these partner organizations and have actively supported their missions through pro bono volunteering, employee giving, and hands-on involvement. By sharing their skills, expertise, and resources, our employees have not only strengthened these organizations but also deepened the impact of our partnerships, turning shared goals into transformative change.
“The work we did for Outright International allowed them to put together an actionable plan to make real changes... It makes me proud to know that I was able to contribute to the safety of people who are working on the front lines fighting for human rights.”
- Ian Reasor, Adobe Senior Computer Scientist.
As we take this week to reflect on our dedication to Adobe for All, we are reminded that fostering an inclusive workplace is not just the right thing to do for our company — it’s also an opportunity to create boundless possibilities for positive impact around the world. We’re excited to continue showcasing how our mission to create an Adobe for All and top-tier workplace culture is inspiring world-changing technology, community programs and partnerships that empower us to do better, together.