Results of our 2026 staff diversity survey
Wild Animal Initiative staff listen to a presentation at our 2025 all-staff retreat.
August 12, 2026
Each year, our internal Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee conducts an anonymous survey of our staff’s diversity and feelings about what it’s like to work at Wild Animal Initiative.
This year, the JEDI Committee outsourced the survey to an external contractor to enhance anonymity, preserve committee capacity, and improve survey quality.
At the time of the 2026 survey administration, there were 18 full-time staff members at WAI, all of whom were invited to participate in the survey. Of these, 15 people (83%) participated, and their responses have been aggregated in the data below.
The individual, anonymous survey responses were visible only to the external contractor that conducted the survey and analyzed the data. Their report and recommendations were shared with all staff members.
Below are some highlighted data and notable insights from the 2026 staff survey results.
Diversity
The demographics section presented here features data on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. But the full survey also included questions about dimensions such as disability status, neurodiversity, and educational background.
For each question in the demographics section, respondents could choose to select multiple boxes.
Race and ethnicity
White: 86.67%
Latino/a/e/x: 20%
Asian: 6.67%
Gender
Identify with the same gender as the one assigned at birth: 86.67%
Identify with a gender different from the one assigned at birth: 13.33%
Sexuality
Heterosexual or straight: 53.33%
Gay: 26.67%
Queer: 20%
Bisexual: 13.33%
Asexual: 6.67%
Demisexual: 6.67%
Fluid: 6.67%
Pansexual: 6.67%
Questioning/unsure: 6.67%
Belonging
In addition to demographic questions, the survey asked about feelings of belonging and psychological safety at WAI, satisfaction at work, views about WAI leadership, and factors that contribute to staff retention.
Overall, the results of these sections indicated that staff generally have a positive experience of working at Wild Animal Initiative — particularly due to mission alignment, peer relationships, and respect for work-life balance. Many staff members expressed appreciation for their colleagues and for an organizational culture that prioritizes meaningful work and collaboration.
However, this year’s survey also identified a need to strengthen management capacity, particularly by training managers in better communicating expectations and supporting direct reports’ career growth. Some staff members also expressed less certainty than others that their perspectives are fully understood and valued in decision making at Wild Animal Initiative.
Taken together, the survey results point to a broadly supportive workplace culture, with some opportunities to strengthen managerial support, communication, and inclusion practices across the organization.
How we will use the survey data
This year’s survey is part of our intention to continually assess whether Wild Animal Initiative is an inclusive and equitable place to work. Our JEDI Committee repeats this survey annually so we can stay up to date on the diversity represented among our employees at any given time, and so we can track changes over time.
Based on the 2026 survey results, the JEDI Committee has identified elements of our staff diversity and experience of working at WAI with room for improvement. After discussion, they will make recommendations to leadership to address the needs identified by the survey. Leadership will then work with our Operations Team to identify and implement concrete steps to address these needs.
As of August 2026, our Operations Team has already begun implementing efforts to address some of the needs identified by the survey, including rolling out a revised salary algorithm and planning management training. Other areas we plan to explore are improving the consistency of performance reviews and evaluating workload sustainability.
We will regularly check for improvement and make adjustments as needed to ensure that we achieve and sustain a work environment that fosters diversity, belonging, satisfaction, drive, and psychological safety for everyone.
We also plan to use the data to measure whether we successfully recruit employees from different backgrounds at all levels of our organizational structure. We aim to have a staff that represents plurality in perspectives and ways of thinking so we can make the best possible decisions about our mission to accelerate science that helps wild animals.
If you have ideas about how to measure and improve representation in our organization, or if you have suggested reading you'd like to share with us, please contact our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee at jedi@wildanimalinitiative.org.
