A hostile or unwelcoming workplace can be a concern for anyone who is seeking employment. So siblings Toby Egbuna and Dumebi Egbuna created a website, Chezie, to redesign workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion to ultimately help minorities find companies that they love.
“We believe that the best way to help minorities find companies they love is to give them the resources that they need to make more informed career decisions,” states Chezie’s website. “Staying true to our mission, we provide a platform for diverse students and professionals to connect with inclusive employers.”
While there are other job review sites such as Glassdoor, the founders say they want to “create the most inclusive and equitable workplaces on Earth.”
According to Dumebi’s LinkedIn page, the company is headquartered in New York and was formerly called Dyversifi. Dumebi studied Business Administration, Marketing and Strategic Consulting at Emory University. Toby studied Business Administration at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dumebi explained the motivation for starting Chezie, in an interview with Blavity.
“We launched Chezie because as first-generation Nigerian immigrants, we know how important it is for diverse students and professionals to be in a workplace where they feel they belong,” Dumebi explained in the interview with Blavity. “We want to provide job seekers with the insights and network they need to make more informed career decisions and ultimately find careers they love.”
Blavity reported that Chezie was co-founded in June 2020. According to Blavity, the website reportedly seeks to offer transparency into the experiences of people of color at workplaces. This is achieved to enable underrepresented individuals to find work at a company that values them.
Life Speak pointed out that a company’s shift toward inclusivity is commendable, but efforts are wasted if new hires are sabotaged by residual bigotry once they’re through the door.
Blavity said that Chezie is referred to as the “Glassdoor for minorities.” However, Chezie’s users reveal constructive feedback and specific examples about work experiences about companies, instead of only providing negative reviews. According to Blavity, Chezie has 1,200 registered community members on the site, although no data is available about the number of people who found employment through the site’s help.