Funding Circle US achieves 10pc rise in female representation
Funding Circle US has reported a 10 per cent rise in the number of female employees but a decline in the number of staff of colour.
The peer-to-peer lending platform’s Diversity & Inclusion Report 2020 found that the company increased overall female representation across its US business from 40 per cent in 2019 to 50 per cent in 2020. It also reported a rise among women occupying senior management positions from 43 per cent to 45 per cent over the same time period.
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Meanwhile, the number of people of colour working at the US platform dropped from 24 per cent in 2019 to 19 per cent in 2020.
By 2023, Funding Circle US aims to have 50 per cent of people managers identifying as female and 40 per cent to be people of colour.
The platform said in 2020 it utilised technology to ensure language in job postings and recruiting emails were inclusive and ensured all interview panels were diverse.
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Funding Circle US provided unconscious bias training to all employees and set up a diversity and inclusion committee to support initiatives through its employee resource groups.
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“During 2020 we increased overall female representation across our US business as well as those occupying senior management positions,” Funding Circle US said in a report.
“However, representation of people of colour decreased.
“It should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on our workforce during 2020, leading us to make a reduction in the overall number of Circlers who work in the US.”
In 2021 the platform has developed goals to increase the diversity of its gender employee base, improve the sense of belonging for everyone at the firm, and achieve a rise in gender representation in leadership.
“Diversity, equality and inclusion sit at the heart of any successful business or society and this year has been one of the most challenging years in a generation for all of us but especially for minority communities,” Vipul Chhabra, managing director of Funding Circle US, said in the report.
“From the countless and disproportionate loss of black lives and devastation of black and brown owned small businesses across the country due to Covid-19, this year has caused significant and likely lasting trauma and financial hardship for people of colour in our communities.
“It is our collective responsibility to make the changes necessary to prevent this from continuing to happen and to ensure the recovery from this pandemic is equitable.
“We are proud of our employees for raising more than $7,000 (£5,014) for various organisations dedicated to racial justice, exercising their constitutional right to protest and march and speaking about these issues openly and freely within the company.”
