Disparities in financial inclusion impact a person’s ability to accumulate wealth, and we at Kard recognize there are many communities historically underserved by and underrepresented in financial services and industries. In our own efforts to make the tech community more inclusive and representative, we are highlighting our action plans below.
Our Call To Action
As career recruiting focuses heavily on a candidate’s previous work experiences, many members of underprivileged backgrounds are unable to take on valuable work experience due to personal or financial barriers. At Kard, we hope to address this pipeline problem by:
Providing internships for a variety of roles throughout the year. We believe that gaining work experience should be possible beyond just the summer, and that by opening our company to interns year-round, we can employ a greater variety of students.
Paying our interns for their work. Doing so not only reduces financial barriers that someone might have in pursuing an opportunity, but it also represents the value that an intern brings to the team. Work, regardless of what title, takes time and is beneficial to the company and so should be rewarded as such.
Embracing a broader definition of diversity. At Kard, we aim to incorporate all sectors of identity within the candidate profile, including but not limited to gender, race, experience, socioeconomic status, belief, and more. We recognize that grading candidates on a “culture fit” is a biased metric representative of our own views, especially when the representation of cultures is already lacking in fintech. As such, Kard reviews applicants based on set values-based criteria to reduce personal bias we might hold about who “fits” with us.
Conclusion
As a company that works directly with modern banks and brands that are fueled by missions to increase accessibility, Kard actively looks within to hold ourselves to this same standard. We encourage feedback and are grateful for your support as we work towards our goals.