Statement from Pagefreezer CEO Michael Riedijk.
Over the last weeks, I have closely followed the Black Lives Matter protests motivated by the deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown, and so many other Black Americans who are victims of systemic and institutionalized racism. The movement has quickly expanded to the UK, Europe and globally, exemplifying its importance and how widespread this problem is.
Before sending out a public statement, we have taken some time to reflect and see how we can make a meaningful and actionable contribution to become part of the solution. First of all, as the CEO of Pagefreezer and as a citizen, I want to express my strong support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the fight for equal opportunity, and for racial justice in general.
While Pagefreezer has been driven by values of inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity since its inception, we also realize that we can do better. My team and I need to better educate ourselves, and carefully listen to our employees and Black and Indigenous community leaders to learn what we can do to help ensure equity in the workplace.
In the coming weeks, we will implement a company-wide program about discrimination prevention including mandatory training for management, educational initiatives and conversations around the topics of racism, discrimination, and equity. Additionally, we are evaluating how Pagefreezer can increase the number of Black and Indigenous employees on our team by supporting and promoting local organizations that represent People of Color in our community. We will post more details about our program and progress on our website in July.
Black and Indigenous communities in North America have been suffering for over 400 years from racial oppression. My hope is that this moment in time will lead to a lasting positive transformation. It will require work on every level and from every person. We are strongly committed to advance this important cause to root out racial injustice in our society.
Michael Riedijk
CEO - Pagefreezer Software, Inc.
Vancouver, Canada