DIVERSITY IN THE FINTECH WORKPLACE

my levels of confidence would be an understatement and I couldn’t be happier with my job, the people I work alongside, and the company that I work for.”

GPS has made specific accommodations to help Foster flourish in his role, including allowing him to work different hours to avoid peak-time travel on public transport and providing a work coach through the government's Access to Work scheme to help him navigate his work schedule and routines.

Making Workplaces More Inclusive

For Foster, making workplaces more inclusive is essential. "People with disabilities should have the same opportunities to participate in society as anyone else," he says.

"In an ideal world, inclusion would be a key part of policies and practices in every workplace. There is a wealth of people with disabilities who are brilliant with IT, and some of the best coders are autistic."

Foster believes that employers should be doing more to eliminate the barriers that make it difficult for people with disabilities to get and keep jobs, not just in fintech, but across all industries.

“Corporate organisations often fail to make it clear that people with disabilities are welcome to apply for their vacancies. Neurodivergent people and those with disabilities are often put off from applying for roles due to negative experiences they’ve had, or because there is no evidence they would be welcome in a particular company. There were times in my life when I had been applying for jobs and sent more than 200 applications – of that number I received just two replies and no offers.”

Foster believes that taking an inclusive stance can improve and increase productivity, and that fintech companies are missing out on a massive amount of untapped talent and knowledge by not hiring people with disabilities. According to the latest figures, just over half of those with a disability are currently employed.

A WIN-WIN DE&I are a win-win for companies, as they bring numerous benefits beyond just doing good in the community. During a panel session at the recent Pay360 conference in London, Joanne Dewar (left), who is now the project ESG lead at The Payments Association but previously held the position of CEO at GPS when Kris was hired, confirmed this sentiment.

Dewar stated: “I completely underestimated the impact and positive contribution Kris was going to make to the company. This experience has driven me to pivot my focus towards sharing similar stories and encouraging other organisations to consider their diversity and inclusion strategies. Not prioritising diversity and inclusion means missing out on extraordinary talent and potential."

Diverse Or Die

The importance of diversity in the workplace has never been more crucial for companies, and it should be an integral part of everything they do to ensure long-term success.

Lord Chris Holmes MBE (right), a member of the British House of Lords, comments: “Diversity and inclusion are a golden thread that should run through everything. In parliament and beyond I try to align all of my work around talent and technology, inclusion and innovation. Inclusion is the spark that will lead and create that innovation. Diversity of individuals and diversity of thought is the only way organisations, institutions and businesses can come up with the best product and truly serve their customers and community.”

If we can really strain every sinew to construct and enable inclusive cultures, and more crucially inclusive leadership, then those in organisations will inevitably become diverse.

“What I say to any organisation is that it's as simple as that right now – become diverse or die.”

Putting The Thought In

So, it's clear that more needs to be done, but what exactly can companies do to help make these changes? Foster offers some advice and suggests starting right at the hiring process.

“Employers should consider carefully the wording of their job descriptions so it’s clear that people with disabilities are welcome to apply, and that support is available for a range of disabilities.”

Additionally, he suggests advertising job roles in multiple places to increase the likelihood of attracting a diverse group of candidates.

He continued: “There's no question that more needs to be done in order to enable the industry to be more diverse and more inclusive across the board. When you consider the fact that 94 per cent of fintechs don’t have a disabled person on their staff, there's plenty to be done. “But it's beyond disabled people. It's beyond protected characteristics.

“Once in the workplace, it’s okay to simply ask employees how their working experience could be improved, but colleagues should avoid making comments such as ‘you’re a hero’, ‘you’re doing so well’ or ‘you’re inspirational’ – this is patronising,” he added.

Finally, to ensure that the workplace is more inclusive, it's important to ask each employee directly about their particular needs.

“Making reasonable adjustments is not necessarily a complex or difficult thing to do, but like most things it just needs some thought put into it.”