From introducing new initiatives to hosting transformative events, the commitment to nurturing a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered has been at the forefront of this year’s organizational plans. From the onboarding process to engagement throughout an employee’s journey, DEI is a relevant force that keeps us motivated and encouraged to engage with each other and promote positive change within the ����Vlogcommunity.

Bringing DEI to the mainstage at our internal sales and marketing gathering, IGNITE, in 2023

To kick off the year, WEXers in the sales and marketing organizations attended an annual celebratory gathering, Ignite, allowing them to meet colleagues face-to-face, deepen friendships and come together to celebrate the prior year’s accomplishments. At the 2023 event the DEI team was there in full force and WEX’s executive leadership team (ELT) members highlighted the pivotal role that diversity, equity, and inclusion plays in WEX’s operations. ELT members emphasized its importance in our workplace culture and its impact on our collective success. This annual event served as a launchpad for DEI in 2023 – the first year we had a significant presence at the event, uniting us in our commitment to spearheading DEI initiatives throughout the year.

WEX’s employee resource group (ERG) leaders attended the event and held membership meetups. Their presence at Ignite gave 700+ members the chance to personally connect with their ERG chairs and engage with communities within the organization to which they hold an affinity.

ERGs went all out in 2023 in annual celebrations 

In recognition of the annual events that celebrate diversity in culture, race and sexual orientation, the ERG’s made the most of the holiday calendar. 

• Black History Month: The ����VlogBlack History Month Series hosted programs encouraging Black professionals to strengthen their financial literacy and express culture both at home and in the workplace.

• Women’s History Month: and explored the issues disproportionately impacting girls today with the Girls Empowerment Network and mentorship programs.

• Volunteer Awareness Month: and hosted a young professionals panel, discussing the social responsibilities of young professionals in business, and highlighting the importance of giving back to the community through volunteer work. and , along with the Benefits Team presented Bright Horizon Elder Care – a service provider for employees caring for their elder loved ones.

• Asian American Pacific Islander Month: The new ERG was launched, creating an inclusive space within ����Vlogfor the multitude of different identities that comprise the global Asian population. 

• Summer of Pride: organized a series of events to amplify the voices of the LGBTQ+ community through entertaining and engaging events, like Drag Queen Bingo and a series of live artist performances.

• Hispanic Heritage Month: hosted a Cafecito con Carlos Carriedo – a discussion with WEX’s COO, illustrating his journey as a leader and providing advice for aspiring LatinX leaders. 

• Veteran’s Day: hosted a Fireside Chat with Preet Chandi – a British Army veteran and the first woman of color to complete a solo expedition to the South Pole, in a discussion recognizing the ambition and bravery of veterans and how veteran experiences can be a gateway to strong career leadership opportunities.

To encourage ongoing development of programs and events, ERG members are surveyed twice a year. The pulse surveys aim to gauge the effectiveness of events and gather insights for improvements, allowing ERG leaders to continue creating relevant engagement opportunities.

The ERG town hall united leaders and inspired new members to join

In May, the DEI team hosted an ERG Town Hall, giving a platform for ERG leaders across the organization to convene and discuss points of interest for each ERG impactful to the broader ����Vlogcommunity. It served as a forum to highlight each ERG – what they stand for and their goals – and allowed them the opportunity to invite new members to join. The response to the event was remarkable, with close to 500 new members joining ERGs globally.

Expanding DEI globally to ensure inclusion of WEX’s international locations

With a global presence and a network of remote employees spanning internationally, ����Vlogwants to ensure that its commitment to inclusion extends to every corner. Embracing diversity across borders and ensuring every remote employee feels a part of the community remains an important commitment in creating a connected work-force. ����VlogBrazil embraced DEI with a variety of events this year from celebrating Black Awareness Day in recognition of their Black-identifying employees to hosting Women in Leadership panels and Pride events. Other global offices followed suit in creating events to uplift and support each other from international locations.

2023 DEI Leadership Summit

The second annual DEI Leadership Summit was a celebration of ERG leaders’ dedication, recognizing the impact that their work has on cultivating an inclusive company culture at WEX. This event provided our ERG board chairs with personal and professional development programs and lessons in leadership. The summit created the exposure that leaders need to gain a diverse perspective, outside of their own ERG, to be able to relate to the experiences and affinities that they may not usually be exposed to. A crucial part to ERG leadership is fostering an inclusive environment while avoiding exclusivity. Acknowledging the uniqueness of our identities is important, but equally important is embracing the multitude of cultures we may represent, which contributes to our collective identity. The summit gives ERG leadership the chance to take a wider look at the many ways they are successful as a cross-functional team. 

Finding brand activation in diverse spaces through conference attendance

This year’s strategy also included prioritizing increased participation in industry conferences dedicated to uplifting and empowering diverse professionals. The increase in conference attendance was dual-purpose as it served to increase brand exposure for WEX, while also exposing our internal teams to a broader perspective on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual preference. 

The National Black MBA Conference, which we attended in September, created an inclusive space tailored for Black professionals seeking opportunities in finance and business strategy. The Prospanica Conference in October empowered Hispanic professionals looking to achieve their full educational, professional, and social potential. The Afrotech Conference – the largest multicultural tech gathering in the U.S. – served as the catalyst for startups, entrepreneurs, and technological innovators within the Black community. 

����Vloginvested this year in the McKinsey’s 2023 Connected Leadership Program as well, allowing ����Vlogcohorts – composed of Asian, Black, and Hispanic/Latino members – to develop their talents and drive leadership opportunities for underrepresented groups within the organization.  

These events and programs provided invaluable exposure to fresh perspectives, broadening our horizons and building up the DEI mindset that will steer us into a sustainable, progressive future.

Underlining DEI commitments through diverse spending 

Through a strategic partnership between the DEI team and the procurement team, the Vendor Inclusion Program was launched and has been instrumental in growing our exposure to suppliers that mirror the rich cultural tapestry of the country, and actively contribute to the growth of diverse communities. In addition, we have expanded our brand exposure to diverse owned companies through active participation in the national conferences for The National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

DEI insights from ELT members were impactful and increased employee engagement

The ELT members made a substantial impact this year by raising their voices as business leaders, in sharing valuable insights on DEI from their vantage point. Leading by example, they actively engaged in various diversity and inclusion events, emphasizing the important role of leadership involvement in making progress towards embracing diversity and inclusion on an industry level.

Becoming a part of the diverse fabric of ����Vlogby joining an ERG

Through the dedication of our community, the ����Vlogecosystem has flourished. Since 2019, the ERG’s have expanded to ten unique groups:

, , , , , , , , ,

Each group, backed by an ELT member, chair, and a dedicated network of members, offers a robust support system for professional and personal growth. Beyond creating engaging programs and voicing meaningful dialogue, the groups play a vital role in shaping the company’s trajectory and influencing its direction by attracting new voices into the mix, allowing us to improve decision-making, strategy, and innovation. 

So as we keep learning how to mend the interests of corporate and culture, we can develop a harmonious dynamic that fuses the strengths of our corporate values with our diverse cultural values, to drive the organization forward. It’s through this collaborative spirit that we’ll continue to grow.

����Vlogis a leading, global fintech solutions provider, simplifying payments and back-end business processes in the Mobility, Corporate Payments, and Benefits areas. ����Vlogvalues and is an equal opportunity employer. on our careers site.

Source:
Forbes

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AFROTECH 2022 was a packed event with over 25 thousand visitors

The surest way to engage and retain a diverse population of employees is through an active investment in their well-being, their sense of community and belonging within your organization, and their career growth. I was given an opportunity in November –– alongside three colleagues, all four of us are women of color –– to attend the AFROTECH Conference in Austin, Texas. This experience gave us new energy around our work, a renewed sense of commitment to our company, and led to the development of a Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness (SCARF) Model training scheduled for January of 2023.

What is AFROTECH?

The AFROTECH Conference is the largest annual Black tech conference globally where a community of over 25,000 Black tech innovators gather to network, learn, and meet with industry leading businesses to discuss the newest trends in technology.

Highlights of attending the AFROTECH conference

At the November event I was joined by my ����Vlogcolleagues,

• Contessa Hoskin- VP, Global M&A Business Integrations, Strategy
• Chloe Jackson- Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Product Technology
• LaTaschia Valasquez- Manager, Account Services, Fleet

where we were inspired by a broad ranging set of talks from many different industry leaders.

WEXers Samira Burris, Tessa Hoskin, and LaTaschia Valasquez at the event

One of the highlights for us was hearing the Chief Diversity Officer of GM, Telva McGruder, speak about the overlapping needs and focus points between diversity and the energy transition. She shared that GM had made a $50 million investment to assess the disparities and the needs of low-socioeconomic communities as electric transportation becomes more prevalent.

We also heard an engaging talk given by Alexandra (Ally) Legend Siegel, the Chief Diversity Officer of Expedia, about how her company is building “the underlying platform that all ladders up to one thing – the Traveler.”

A group of small business owners shared the stage in a panel focused on entrepreneurship’s impact on the growth of the Black American economy. The question posed was, “What’s next for Black entrepreneurs?” These talks were led by a panel of Black entrepreneurs, who were part of a whole host of burgeoning industries.

How a feeling of inclusion can be impacted by product design decisions

LaTaschia and Samira taking a turn in the photobooth

By far the most compelling conversation at AFROTECH was led by Hassani Turner, Vice President, Portfolio Management (Customer Data and Profile) and Head of Product Inclusion at American Express. Turner’s talk was focused on designing and engineering inclusive products. She expressed the idea that every product design decision your business makes has the potential to include or exclude customers. In this interactive workshop, members of the American Express product inclusion team covered the fundamentals of applying an inclusive lens and incorporating diverse perspectives into the product development and design lifecycle. The session focused on methods to better identify with customers, achieve greater empathy, and create stronger products that truly speak to customers and support a diverse array of demographics. This talk gave me a new perspective on my mission at WEX, and I came back to my work wanting to play a larger role in how our customers experience our products. I want to help ensure that we look at the products we’re creating with a line on inclusivity. I was finally able to see the relationship between my role at a fintech, and what is at the heart of my work as a diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate.

The benefits of attending conferences like AFROTECH

As Tessa Hoskin shared, one reason a company like ����Vlogshould attend conferences like AFROTECH comes from a talent acquisition angle. Diverse companies enjoy 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee, and that cash flow begins with the workers. There is a talent pipeline at conferences like AFROTECH that would give companies like ����Vlogdirect access to a diverse pool of tech professionals. Tessa witnessed talent acquisition teams from global companies hiring people on the spot, and she envisions a future where ����Vlogcould take the opportunity to meet new potential employees at AFROTECH and other conferences like it. “It’s really about adjusting our mindset and our belief surrounding where solutions come from and the level of excellence that can be found in a whole diverse set of communities in the technology space.”

What made the AFROTECH conference special from a diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective

American professional stock car racing driver Bubba Wallace with WEXer Chloe Jackson at AFROTECH

Tessa described the feeling so well for us four attendees –– for all of us it was the first time we found ourselves in a work environment where we did not feel like we were in the minority. As Tessa said, “Some people attending described it as feeling at home. You feel safe. You feel you can be your authentic self.”

Emphasis at AFROTECH on the impact of your network on career growth

Both Chloe and LaTaschia came to AFROTECH with a developed understanding of some of the more salient topics covered at the conference, having just completed a six month McKinsey leadership course together. As Chloe shared, “The McKinsey course was focused on strategy and within that teaching was a focus on the importance of one’s network. The way the course described it, your network represents your net worth.” Chloe and LaTaschia approached AFROTECH through that lens which meant they entered every opportunity with an eye to how the tens of thousands of attendees might become a part of a larger future resource for them, and for WEX.

Coming out of AFROTECH with a renewed commitment to authenticity

Chloe, LaTaschia, Tessa, and I discussed one of the main themes we felt coming out of AFROTECH. Fortunately for us, the idea is already a cultural pillar at WEX, where all employees are encouraged to “bring our authentic selves to work.” When we were at AFROTECH, we all found it easier to be ourselves, unapologetically, and we left that experience forever changed. As LaTaschia described it, “I want to be more my authentic self, because that’s not a bad thing. The experience of AFROTECH was inspiring to me. In my work, I have always felt like I needed to fit into a certain mold in order to be accepted. I came back from AFROTECH with a sense of pride in who I authentically am, and an understanding that it would be okay to bring some of the freedom of expression I had experienced at the conference to my job. What came with that feeling was a feeling of renewal.”

AFROTECH swag was creative and in abundance!

How does the SCARF model training tie into the AFROTECH event?

For those of you who are not yet familiar with SCARF, it’s a relatively new way of looking at human interaction that involves five aspects of human social experience: status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. The main premise is that the brain makes us behave in certain ways, tied to how to minimize threats and maximize rewards. We respond to the possible threat and the possible reward in the same way we act upon satisfying primary needs, such as getting ourselves food and water. Our social needs are on par with our need for sustenance. This new science has some significant implications for the workplace which is often a highly social place. In our interactions, our brain is busy classifying everything with a “reward” or “threat” feeling in our body, which then registers in our behavior. As Tessa shares, “SCARF has nothing to do with personality. It has nothing to do with IQ. It’s really about neurology.”

Tessa has long been a fan of the SCARF model and what she experienced at AFROTECH illustrated for her how valuable a SCARF training experience would be as a follow-up to AFROTECH: as a person who’s part of a minority group, the things that trigger a fight or flight reaction might be different than for those who identify as part of the majority group. The value of sharing this with the ����Vlogcommunity became clear to Tessa when she was in a setting where she was no longer a minority.  Later this month Tessa will be leading a SCARF training for WEX’s Black Growth Council, and this germ of an idea for engaging ����Vlogemployees in SCARF training was born at AFROTECH.

How investing in your diverse employee population can give more back to your business

Harvard Business Review’s Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali recently released a diversity report which included the finding that once a company has developed itself as relatively homogenous, it becomes difficult to shift to a more diversely populated workforce as the company grows:

Bubba Wallace pointing out some particularly fun DoorDash swag

“The result suggests that an already homogeneous organization will tend to become even more so as it scales up. So it’s important to encode diversity in a company’s DNA at the earliest stages.” What does it mean to encode diversity in your company’s DNA? It might be as simple as investing in the diverse population you already have and allowing that seed to grow and develop into something powerful.

Sending four employees to AFROTECH might be an example of that kind of action. It provided a segment of our company’s population with professional development as well as personal development, and it gave the four of us a sense that ����Vlogcared about us enough to invest in our being there. It was a feeling of  “We want to thank you for your input, and we also want to give you the platform and the opportunity to learn more, grow more, and do more.” When you implement diversity and inclusion programming at your company, and you create incentives or opportunities for advancement –– personal or professional development –– those employees double down on their commitment to the organization. It makes them excited and it makes them want to be there. It also makes them want to stay, so they can have these opportunities in the future. What can also come with that is an opportunity to continue to build a thriving work environment for Black employees, and for everyone who works at your company. When LaTashia, Chloe, and Tessa’s networks learn about the support and resources given to them at WEX, they may be more inclined to apply for a position at the company.

How can you build on your diversity, equity, and inclusion investment

One way to build on any DEI investment you’ve made as a business would be to return to those conferences where you felt the most energy and learning and plan to have more of a presence than you did the prior year. It’s useful to look at the conference from as many angles of opportunity as you can come up with. Using AFROTECH as an example, the best thing about the conference wasn’t just an opportunity to network, there was a vast array of tech talent, there were many minority small business owners, and there were panelists and guest speakers who inspired and shared unique ideas. Think about returning with members of your talent acquisition team, with members of your supplier team, and with members of your strategy team. Come back to the best conferences armed with a plan.

I would also recommend sending along employees that don’t identify with the diverse population the conference is speaking to. The purpose of this would be to give those not in the minority insight into what some of your diverse employees experience on a daily basis to be in a space where you don’t see anyone else who looks like you.

At AFROTECH, I was a black woman among a large magnitude of people who look like me, who are also in technical corporate spaces. This was invigorating, it gave me a sense of belonging, and it was energizing. The energy I left AFROTECH with was that I belong. I am doing what I’m supposed to do and I can feel proud of the work I’m doing. I’m exactly where I need to be.

While diversity, equity, and inclusion is important for shareholders and for investors, it’s not just a box to check

It makes sense in 2023 for any viable company to put dollars and resources behind diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. As shared in a recent McKinsey report, ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform more homogeneous ones, while gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to do so.

All that said, I would suggest an approach that goes beyond treating DEI simply as a box to be checked in your operations practices. Don’t lose sight of how important it is to feel included. For everyone to feel included, and not forcibly so. Chloe, LaTashia, Tessa, and I were reminded at AFROTECH of the distinction between a sense of being included because of overarching goals of maintaining a diverse workforce versus being included simply because we had intrinsic worth. Being included because each of us provide a valuable resource simply by what we bring to the conversation as smart, capable people.

There was so much we were able to see at AFROTECH including presentations on artificial intelligence, crypto, how to succeed in fintech, and company climate and its impact on the retention of a diverse technology talent pool. By far the greatest impact we experienced as individuals was a renewed sense of purpose, a stronger drive to be more authentic in how we come to work, and a new energy to help ����Vlogbecome an even more inclusive and equitable place. The value of investing in these types of experiences for your diverse pool of employees cannot be overstated.

If you’re interested in working for a a dynamic and nimble global organization, .

����Vloghas nine ERGs which serve as active communities, acting as touchpoints for various groups across ����Vlogthat share interests, cultures, identities, and backgrounds. These groups include: and

Resources:
Built In
AFROTECH conference
Childcare Technical Assistance Network

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