News & Insights
Work & Co Joins Time to Vote
August 28, 2020
Work & Co has joined Time to Vote, a nonpartisan movement to drive a culture shift and increase participation in the U.S. presidential election.
In June, Work & Co announced to employees that it would make Election Day on November 3rd a paid company holiday. Paid time for voting is also provided for all local elections.
By becoming a Time to Vote coalition member —alongside companies such as Patagonia, Reddit, Twitter, REI, Niantic, and Nike — Work & Co aims to increase pressure for other companies, particularly in the technology and design sectors, to offer PTO to support employees’ ability to vote.
“As a technology company, Work & Co fundamentally values progress and believes companies play a key role in the advancement of society," said Founding Partner Mohan Ramaswamy. "But it’s not enough to urge team members to participate, we need to find ways to eliminate obstacles to voting.” He added: “Given we have a significant portion of non-U.S employees, we further see it as our duty to remove barriers for citizens who represent not only themselves but those unable to vote in this country.” Work & Co team members are additionally contributing to voter turnout initiatives through pro-bono projects supported by the Work & Co Fund.
“When so many influential business leaders join forces – and take a stand on the vital issues of civic engagement – it sends a compelling message," said Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, vice president and Women & Democracy Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. "The Time to Vote coalition’s commitment to give employees time off to vote, especially now when the challenges are so dire, can address one of the biggest barriers to voter participation.”
More information on the coalition can be found here. Companies interested in joining the movement should head to Time to Vote’s site and learn how to become a member.