Celebrating International Women’s Day 2023

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

At BR-DGE we are proud to be growing a diverse and inclusive technology business. Our people are the lifeblood of our organisation, and we understand that in order to encourage inclusivity and grow our brilliant workforce, we need to ensure there is clear representation, opportunity and effort at BR-DGE.

This International Women’s Day, we want to champion our colleagues and have asked our team to share more about their role, responsibilities and development at BR-DGE, alongside how they feel about this years’ theme of Embracing Equity.

Here’s what our team had to say about International Women’s Day and Embracing Equity at BR-DGE:

Emily Whalley; Enterprise Sales Manager in Travel

What is your role at BR-DGE and what does a typical day involve?

My role is to work with our clients to ensure we identify the key pain points and interact with third parties to scope solutions and identify key partnership offerings that may fit the strategic plans of that business, so that they have a clear payments strategy in place.

As part of the Culture Squad at BR-DGE, what initiatives are you most proud of?

I’m really enjoying being part of the Culture Squad as it gives me the opportunity to really impact the values, beliefs and initiatives that we can, as a company, get involved with - whether that be how we support each other as individuals or as a team. It’s something that is extremely important to me personally and I feel that BR-DGE is a true leader in ensuring all employees feel that they are aiming in the same direction.

What advice would you give to a woman starting out in the Fintech industry?

Get stuck in - It's an extremely exciting industry with so many fabulous opportunities right now you just need to believe in yourself, be authentic, work with integrity and find a great mentor!

Paula Lister; Head of Finance

What is your role at BR-DGE and what does a typical day involve?

On a daily basis my role is incredibly varied and could involve any of the following:

• ensuring we pay suppliers, employees and other partners on time.
• making decisions on priorities for where we spend our money as a business.
• assisting the business and being an ‘enabler’ with initiatives such as pricing for our services, assessing risks of a project or securing funding.
• ensuring knowledge of the business and the future direction of the business to be able to assist with financial planning.

As part of the Culture Squad at BR-DGE, what initiatives are you most proud of?

As part of the Culture Squad, I am most proud of the work we have done to date on Diversity and Inclusion. We have set out to understand and communicate the benefits of an effective D&I strategy, work out - based on employee feedback - where we currently are on that path, and are currently working up an action plan to improve a number of things we do to ensure the way we treat our employees, partners, merchants and the community is much more inclusive and understanding of others’ needs. The work will never be ‘done’ but we are making huge improvements for everyone who works in, and with, BR-DGE.

Rebecca Robson; Senior Marketing Executive

What is your role at BR-DGE and what does a typical day involve?

My role at BR-DGE is to support the execution of a variety of marketing campaigns to generate brand awareness, support the sales team and increase leads. I help with the creation of a wide variety of online and offline materials to support the sales team including brochures, presentations and case studies. I am also involved in the planning, creation and execution of a variety of end-to-end marketing tactics including social media, digital advertising and email marketing.

How is BR-DGE championing diversity and inclusion?

At BR-DGE, we recognise that the world and our company must evolve towards a more diverse and inclusive future. Over the past 12 months, we have embraced the increasingly diverse world and we understand D&I is crucial to the success of our company.

BR-DGE has a Culture Squad which creates an environment where every BR-DGE employee can be their true self and feel a sense of belonging. In addition, we leverage flat hierarchies, regular pulse surveys and team building and bonding initiatives.

Emily Christianson; Partnerships Manager

What is your role at BR-DGE and what does a typical day involve?

I am the partnership manager at BR-DGE. I work with our current partners and within the payment ecosystem to maintain and forge strong relationships to ensure BR-DGE has the right partners to meet our merchants needs now and into the future.

How can technology organisations champion diversity, embrace equity and build more balanced teams?

There is a number of ways for technology organisations to champion diversity, embrace equity and build more balanced teams throughout. I believe it starts with an open culture where we can openly analyse, asses and be honest about how we are doing in this space by continuously looking for ways to improve as an organisation.

To do this, it is important to create a platform where ideas can be shared throughout the business; this can be done by carrying out regular surveys in the business, helping to give individuals agency and a forum to express ideas on how to move the business forward. These surveys then need to be followed up by a cross-functional diverse group of individuals within the business identifying trends and important insights. This provides senior leadership with actionable business intelligence on areas to improve moving forward. A way to help inclusion and collaboration within a company is by having regular company team bonding initiatives so people can get to know one another across a business, this helps build people relationships across teams and seniority, improving the business as a whole.

I feel lucky to be at an organisation that does this, championing diversity and proactively trying to increase inclusion to help make our business better and stronger. I think all companies can and should work on diversity and inclusion continuously.

Jessica Rhodes; Head of Marketing

What is your role at BR-DGE and what does a typical day involve?

As Head of Marketing at BR-DGE, I lead a small team of marketers in curating hyper-personalised, content driven workflows and event campaigns to increase lead generation, client loyalty, and to inspire and educate the wider market on the role of payments as part of the evolving digital ecosystem. I am lucky to work within a fantastic team, where we embrace change and challenge collectively and drive solutions that not only drive our business forward but inspire those in our surrounding communities too.

What does Embracing Equity mean to you?

The theme of Embracing Equity goes takes us beyond striving for equality and looks at the actions that needs to be taken to actually achieve a diverse and inclusive culture, community or workplace. Equality is all about making sure we offer and receive the same resources and opportunities, but equity recognises that everyone's individual circumstances are different and therefore we need a plethora of programs, resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome for all.

Embracing equity is not just about tools too, it is about forging a culture that understands what diversity and inclusion looks like and how best to curate a path to success for each individual. In 2023, this is no longer a nice-to-have or something for us to report on as a business, but a must-have to be able to grow a sustainable organisation, with brilliant talent delivering exceptional outcomes.

On a personal level, I am passionate about this opportunity. International Women’s Day does not only celebrate the incredible talent and opportunity for females in and outside of the workplace but provides a source of inspiration for those who are yet to be heard or are striving to succeed. I understand that diversity is critical to success and without representation, it can be challenging for people to see the path to growth. Outreach programmes and initiatives such as this are crucial in paving the way for others to come forward and shine.

Embracing Equity at BR-DGE

This International Women’s Day we are celebrating the achievements of the women in our team, and how we are pioneering programs and resources to champion diversity and inclusion in our brilliant workplace. Although the industry and thinking as a whole still has some way to go, we recognise that action is needed, and we are proud to be an organisation that are embracing equity and taking action.

With initiatives such as the Culture Squad, we are creating an environment where people can be open and honest, and where diversity and inclusion is celebrated. We hold a collective commitment to continue to drive an environment where our differences are valued, everyone experiences a sense of belonging and where everyone gets a voice.