Diversity & Inclusion

Our Diversity & Inclusion Pledge

In 2020, we created and shared a concrete plan to make our team and our site more inclusive and to elevate a diversity of voices. Our goal is to evolve into a site that truly helps everyone make their best home.

While we are committed to the initiatives outlined below, we acknowledge that change requires time and patience and that we might make mistakes along the way. To hold ourselves accountable, we will share our progress and updates regularly. If you have any questions about our plan, suggestions for how we can improve it, or referrals for contributors to hire or creators to feature, please email us: contact@thespruce.com. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Diversify our staff. Diversify our staff. As of September 2022, 63% of The Spruce editorial staff identifies as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). We pledge that BIPOC candidates are considered for each open role.
Diversify contributor network. At The Spruce, the majority of our content is written by contributing writers who are experts in the topic areas that they cover, and photographed by a network of in-house and freelance photographers. We will consistently look to BIPOC-centric sites to source our photographers. When contracting with vendors for original photography and video shoots, we will make a concerted effort to work with BIPOC-owned businesses. Our parent company, Dotdash Meredith, has formally audited the diversity of our contributors. We have ensured our goal of 25% of Spruce contributors identifying as members of the BIPOC community. In accordance with this pledge, our list of designers and image sources is 36% BIPOC.
Normalize highlighting BIPOC creators. By updating our existing, highly trafficked articles to be more inclusive of BIPOC voices, we can impact content that reaches over 20 million people each month. We have reviewed our most popular interior design galleries, “best of” listicles, and influencer roundups and updated them to highlight the work of BIPOC creators, representing 20% of each article. We also ensure that all new content contains 20% BIPOC representation.
Revisit our most popular articles with a critical lens. In 2020, we reviewed our most highly trafficked articles. We identified and updated at least 450 articles for inclusivity. Dotdash Meredith’s official Anti-Bias Review Board reviewed our most popular and widely read articles with a view for bias (intentional and unintentional). We have since completed several remediation projects following this review, which included removing problematic terms such as exotic, master bedroom, boho, slave, and grandfathered from our site. Additionally we removed problematic plant names from our gardening content. We continue to monitor and remediate any potentially problematic content.
Diversify review boards. Part of our editorial process is to have certain articles—those that make medical claims or may affect the health, safety or finances of our readers—reviewed by industry professionals. (Learn more about our three review boards.) We pledge to continue onboarding diverse candidates to our new review board.
Highlight Underrepresented People. We have several series that spotlight people from underrepresented communities, their impacts on the design world, as well as the unique impacts their cultural backgrounds have on their design perspectives. Rooted in Design highlights spaces owned by readers like you who come from underrepresented communities, Home Away From Home similarly highlights the impact your cultural past can have on your cultural present and the line where these two meet, and our BIPOC designer series features interviews with designers expressing their experiences as part of the community—we are committed to learning what inspires them.
We will partner with an organization that uplifts marginalized voices in the design world. While many of our articles offer practical advice, we also provide inspiration to millions of people looking to spruce up their homes with artwork, objects, furniture, etc. We’ve previously worked with The Kaleidoscope Project to highlight BIPOC designers on Instagram via Reels and IG Stories. We pledge to reach out to similar organizations to further our social partnerships with diverse designers. We also support our local communities through team-wide charitable initiatives such as partnering with God’s Love We Deliver to pack over 100 medically-curated meals for those suffering from illnesses.
Normalize highlighting BIPOC voices across social media. We are committed to diversifying the network of creators we work with on social media, particularly on Instagram and TikTok, the platforms on which we’re most active. Our original goal stated that we’d strive to feature a minimum of 25% of creators who identify as BIPOC, with the intent of increasing BIPOC representation over time. We have surpassed our goal as ~50% of the content posted to The Spruce’s Instagram and TikTok accounts highlight BIPOC voices.

Thank you to our readers for inspiring us to do more, and to do better.

Courtney Mason, General Manager

Caroline Utz, Editorial & Strategy Director

Jamie Abarca, Senior Editorial Project Manager

The Spruce Team

Giving Back

IAC, which owns The Spruce, has long supported organizations fighting structural inequity and racial injustice, including The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Equal Justice Initiative, Reclaim the Block, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, ACLU, and The Bail Project. Additionally, just last year, IAC launched IAC Fellows, an immersive education program designed to empower high-achieving students from underserved and under-resourced communities.

Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home.