Fintech Equality Coalition Created to Help Fight Racial Inequality in the Industry

Coalition is composed of fintech companies working together to actively fight inequality within the industry and in society.

News provided by

Betterment

Aug 13, 2020, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of the fintech industry today announced the creation of the Fintech Equality Coalition. The coalition will function as a working group to actively fight inequality both within the fintech industry as well as in society. This means enhancing access to the financial services provided by each company within the coalition, as well as job and career advancement for the Black community. The coalition believes that as leaders, they can, should, and must do more to support and build upon those efforts.

More specifically the coalition recognizes the following problems, and promises to enact the necessary changes and solutions to address them:

Because the Black community is underserved by financial services, we will find opportunities in the form of partnerships, education, and outreach to make sure the value provided by our products and services is accessible. When hiring new vendors, we will engage and consider Black owned businesses.
Because there are Black voices and issues in our industry that should be but are not currently amplified, we will host, sponsor, and participate in forums and events that feature Black speakers, as well as address financial topics specific to the Black community. In addition, we will not participate in forums or events without diverse speaker lineups.
Because Black employees and Black-owned businesses are underrepresented in the tech community, including at many of our companies, we will advance our recruiting outreach across departments and seniority levels, enhance professional development programs, and augment interviewing practices to mitigate potential bias throughout candidate assessment.
Because the Black community is underrepresented in leadership roles, including at many of our companies, we will enhance programs already in place to ensure we are recruiting, retaining, mentoring, and growing Black team members.
Because these promises are meaningless without accountability, we will each publish our individual plans and provide regular updates on our progress toward these commitments.

The coalition, which was spearheaded by Betterment, includes the following companies: Cadre, Carver Edison, Credit Karma, Divvy Homes, Dosh, Earnest, Fabric, Freedom Financial Network, Jetty, Kindur, Marqeta, MoneyLion, Monzo, Nova Credit, Rhino, SoFi, Spruce, Stash, Tally, and Varo. There will be opportunities for other fintech companies to join in the future.

The Fintech Equality Coalition will establish a steering committee along with working groups dedicated to various functions including recruiting, HR, product, design, engineering, and marketing. The groups will meet quarterly to share best practices and identify initiatives to work on together. The Coalition will also publish an annual report that includes diversity data from the fintech industry and report on the progress being made from the Coalition's work.

"I know firsthand how critically important it is that we seize this moment of social awakening to implement long-term, systemic change that creates access rather than obstacles," said Ryan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Cadre. "Those of us in the financial services technology industry have a special understanding that social and economic justice go hand-in-hand, and I'm pleased to join the Fintech Equality Coalition's collective commitment to lead the way with scalable change and solutions. These initial efforts are the first steps on the long and essential journey towards economic equity for all."

"Change is needed across the board and that includes our own industry. If we aren't changing these inequalities, then we're just perpetuating them," said Jon Stein, CEO of Betterment. "Creating this coalition is the first of many steps needed to enact real, and much needed change."

"Earnest, along with the impressive list of fintechs in this coalition, understand the importance that diverse opinions and experiences play in shaping our industry for the better," said Susan Ehrlich, chief executive officer of Earnest.

To learn more about the Fintech Racial Equality Coalition, and to read the full statement signed by the companies of the coalition, please visit www.fintechequality.com

About the Fintech Equality Coalition
The Fintech Equality Coalition comprises mission-oriented companies operating at the intersection of finance and technology. United by the urgent mission to make racial equality a right for everyone, the coalition is working toward action-oriented goals to enhance access to financial services, as well as jobs and career advancement, for underrepresented groups—particularly the Black community. Read more about the Fintech Racial Equality Coalition, its goals, and how you can get involved at www.fintechequality.com.

CONTACT: Danielle Shechtman, [email protected]

SOURCE Betterment