First Gaming Company to Earn Prestigious Honor

Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform bringing fair and fun competition to players worldwide, has been named to Parity.org’s 2021 “Best Companies for Women to Advance” List. The honor recognizes organizations with benefits, programs, and policies that ensure women have significant opportunities to advance their careers, and which foster an equitable work environment. With this recognition, Skillz joins other leading companies such as Airbnb, NASDAQ, Adobe, Ralph Lauren, Best Buy, and PepsiCo in being recognized for their strong commitment to gender equality.

This year, Parity.org is honoring 34 companies that are exemplary in promoting the advancement of women. Companies were rated in areas such as hiring and promotion practices, inclusion, representation of women in leadership, and benefits. In 2018, Skillz became the first gaming and first esports company to take the ParityPledge, a public commitment to interview qualified women for open executive roles at the vice president level or higher.

“This recognition reaffirms Skillz’s commitment to leveling the playing field for women across both the gaming and technology industries,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. “Skillz has been a long-standing advocate for equity across the board. We are proud to have been the first gaming company to sign the ParityPledge, and humbled to be the first honored with inclusion on this list.”

Parity.org uses a rigorous set of criteria in determining its list, all of which Skillz is proud to have met. These include work-from-home or telecommute options, flexible working hours, reporting on gender parity to the executive team, and equal paid family leave for men and women. Additionally, every company on the list regularly communicates its gender parity values to employees, encourages men to take their full family leave, and has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.

As an innovator making esports available to everyone, Skillz ensures that fairness, accessibility, and inclusion are critical elements of the company’s culture, identity, and ideals. Each Skillz employee embodies the company’s core values – such as honor, collaboration, and willingness – and is committed to infusing them into their work. These values have been at the root of Skillz since its founding in 2012.

“After a year that has erased all the gains women have made in the past several decades, there are still companies like Skillz that are making progress to support women’s advancement at work – all the more reason to celebrate their successes,” said Parity.org Founder and CEO Cathrin Stickney. “The companies that are on the 2021 list of Best Companies for Women to Advance are shining examples of companies that actually walk the talk and are helping create equal representation, now.”

For more information about why Skillz was named a “Best Company for Women to Advance” and how to join the rapidly growing team, visit the Skillz careers page or LinkedIn.

 

About Skillz Inc.

Skillz is the leading mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The Skillz platform helps developers build multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, and distributes millions in prizes each month. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com

 

About Parity.org

Parity.org is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap at the highest ranks of business leadership. Organizations wanting to take the ParityPledge or learn more about Parity.org should visit www.Parity.org.

 

About the Best Companies for Women to Advance List

Parity.org established the Best Companies for Women to Advance List to recognize organizations that have benefits, policies, and programs that are particularly beneficial for women to advance in the workplace. Thirty-four companies made the 2021 list, based on a cumulative rating that took into consideration recruitment, benefits, executive preparation, measurement, and overall representation. To see the complete list, visit www.parity.org/best-companies.