Financial Empowerment

As a leading information services company, some of our chief priorities include protecting and ensuring the accuracy of consumer information. The integrity of our data is critical and aligns with our efforts to advocate for financial inclusion for everyone. Data accuracy is particularly relevant for the transgender and non-binary community with regard to name changes. It’s important to note that information about gender/sex, age, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation is not included in credit reports or scores. However, when someone transitions, and changes their name, their credit and financial history may still be tied to their birth name, which is also referred to as their “deadname.” This can unintentionally “out” the consumer or force them to establish a new credit history. At Experian, we have a process through which those who identify as transgender and non-binary can provide legal documentation to prove their identity without the negative emotional and financial impact. You can learn more about this process here. When you affirm your identity and update your name, Experian will also suppress your deadname so it does not appear on your Experian credit report. Taking these steps only changes your name on your Experian credit reports, and you may need to inquire about the process with other credit bureaus. Fair access to credit tools is part of our mission, as is providing these services with dignity and respect. At Experian, this is our purpose, advocating for all communities and people. This is financial inclusion.

I’m delighted to announce that Experian has been named as a Top Employer across five countries. Our teams in the UK, Germany, Brazil, Singapore and Australia were all recognised in the 2022 awards which is a fantastic achievement. At Experian we pride ourselves on having a great People First culture, it’s something we are all proud of and want to protect. We do this by supporting a dynamic, positive and inclusive working environment for our employees wherever they are in the world. Our people are passionate about the work that we do, using data, analytics and technology to help transform lives and create a better tomorrow for people and organisations. We see our people live that purpose everyday in their work and it is wonderful to see that pride, about the role we play - supporting clients, consumers economies and society – getting recognised once again.

It’s a privilege to be recognized for a cause that’s important to so many of us at Experian.  I am honored to be awarded a bronze Stevie® Award in the “Women Helping Women – Business” category for supporting women in Decision Analytics (DA) and overseeing our employee resource groups across DA. The award specifically calls out our long-standing Accelerated Development Program (ADP), which identifies and mentors women business leaders within our organization The Stevie Award trophy is one of the world's most coveted business prizes, representing more than 60 countries.  The awards have been given to small, medium and large businesses for an array of categories since 2002. In 2018, HR Director Richard Teague and I helped launch ADP, which has identified 44 mid-career, high-potential women on the Global Decision Analytics team in a leadership training program. Around half of the women who participate have been promoted within two years. The ADP program also complements our DEI initiatives, which includes our five employee resource groups that have played a valuable connecting and our engagement our team members during both the pandemic and personal challenges. If you would like to find out more about any of the GDA DEI networks, including how you can get involved, please contact the relevant network lead: Mental Health – Chris Fletcher Disability and Neurodiversity – David Bernard LGBTQ+ - David Gallihawk Gender Network – Marika Vilen or Jen Cosgrove Race and Ethnicity – Shri Santhanam

For the ninth year, the Orange County Register has named Experian North America as a Top Workplace, securing the #1 ranking for the second consecutive year. The award, which is based on employee feedback in a survey of hundreds of leading companies in Orange County, recognizes our company’s culture of inclusion, and our commitment to employees and communities. Orange County is the home of our North America operations, and we are especially honored to be recognized again for our inclusive work environment and achieving higher performance while giving back. This honor demonstrates the talent and compassion of all the people who work at Experian. Thank You All our decisions are driven by our desire to ensure our employees feel valued and protected. As part of this, we issued a ‘Thank You’ Share Award to all employees at the beginning of this year to recognize perseverance through the pandemic, giving thousands of employees an equity stake in the company. Coming Together Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) continue to grow and support employees in different ways, which include activities that bring employees together internally to serve their communities externally. For example, our Asian American ERG worked closely with Pan-Asian leadership organization Ascend to support the Asian American community and employees, considering increasing discrimination and xenophobia during the pandemic. Together they kicked off Feed Your Hospital, which facilitated the delivery of meals to frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers by supporting local Asian restaurants. Meals were purchased at the restaurants and delivered to participating hospitals. The campaign raised funds for hospitals in Orange County. Social Good This year, we also awarded two OC-based organizations with major grants – the OC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and TGR Foundation (a Tiger Woods Charity). For the OC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, we funded and facilitated credit education initiatives for the Youth Chamber Program – funds went towards scholarship awards and event costs. We also added credit education to the ‘Pre-Venture Business Program’ curriculum – with funds going into marketing, training, one-on-one consulting, and event costs offered in both Spanish and English. For the TGR Foundation grant, we are working on ongoing projects with the foundation to support credit education, small business entrepreneurship, homeownership, and financial inclusion efforts. In total, employees volunteered more than 900 hours to Orange County-based nonprofits and Experian matched funds to those organizations that employees volunteered with and donated to. Our employees continue to help people who are facing unprecedented and unforeseen challenges. Different groups and employees of all levels are working together to help our clients, customers and communities persevere. We are honored that the Orange County Register continues to recognize our tireless efforts to make a difference in the communities in which we live and work.

This year is the first time we are observing International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), but Experian has been working to support those who identify as part of this community long before now. I share the story of my colleague, software engineer Andy Willard. While Andy has been with Experian for 25 years, he didn’t share his deteriorating eyesight condition with managers at first. “Truthfully, I didn’t ask for a lot. I had the position and I don’t want to rock the boat or put a spotlight on myself. But in 2000, I stopped driving and rode the bus to work a lot. That would take an hour and a half each way. I finally went to my manger and requested telecommuting days, and at the time no one was getting those,” Andy said. His managers immediately agreed and he works 100 percent remotely, long before the pandemic. Experian provided tools like larger monitors and accessibility software to assist with on-screen reading. He appreciates the technology and the time the company allows him for classes to learn about new ways to adjust to working with his visual impairment. But, there can still be some challenges, like when a company-wide software update doesn’t automatically reconnect his system with the screen reader or screen magnifying tools. We know we still have work to do. Being named a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion earlier this year let us know we’re on the right track; and we’re excited to continue developing our partnerships with Disability:IN and the National Disability Institute, for which our Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Wil Lewis is a board member of both. As the co-executive sponsor of the ASPIRE employee resource group, which focuses on mental health, caregiving and disabilities, we want our coworkers to know they are supported and we will do all we can to ensure they continue to grow and develop their careers, as Andy did. His first job at Experian was as an analyst, then moved on to software development and then into a software engineering role. I’m proud of the work we are doing at Experian. We’ve made great strides forward to support an inclusive work environment for everyone, and there’s more to be done. I encourage my coworkers to share their stories as Andy did so we know where we should focus our efforts and support our colleagues in making Experian an employer of choice for people who live with disabilities.

I am delighted to have announced our new partnership with Code First Girls, a non-profit organisation that teaches women to code for free, and helps increase the number of women – an under-represented group – working in tech.     As a South African woman of Indian heritage, a single parent of two bi-racial girls aged 18 and 22, and a human resources executive with a passion for talent, leadership, and development, I work daily with my team to support Experian deliver on its brand promise of powering opportunities to create a better tomorrow for our people, consumers and businesses globally. So I am personally and professionally very proud of this development.    Our partnership means four young women can study for a Code First Girls‘ Nanodegree, while working as paid interns in EMEA for the next nine months.    These young talents come from diverse backgrounds, helping us diversify our workforce and bringing fresh thinking and new perspectives. They’ll benefit from our flexible ways of working, being based primarily from home. They’ll gain international experience as they are joining our Data Science and Innovation teams in South Africa and Italy.    Moreover, they will help us drive our financial inclusion agenda by working on our United for Financial Health programme. This means we will have four young women working on financial inclusion solutions for women and four 18 to 25-year-olds working on financial inclusion solutions for the same demographic.  This is a people-led innovation that contributes to the circular economy and adds purpose to our Company’s commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in its fullest sense, supporting our sustainable business goals.   This isn’t philanthropy or theory. This partnership means our interns will work hard, learn and develop themselves as they prepare for a career in data and tech. It means we will also learn and evolve through this initiative.    I’m curious: how do young, fresh talented people experience us?  Will this partnership really enable four young women to start sustainable, fulfilling careers in tech, data, artificial intelligence, or software development?  Will it help Experian attract and retain the best early tech talent in future?    As with every innovative step we take, we’re unsure of the outcome, and that’s OK, as well as exciting. What is important is that we’ve started a new journey together, and  I’m excited to see where it takes us.    If you’d like to meet our EMEA interns and track their journey, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., UnidosUS, held its LatinX IncluXion Summit this week and I had the pleasure of participating as a featured speaker. One of the conference’s themes this year was “Reimagining our Future” and that resonated with me quite a bit. As an immigrant who has had to reimagine my life and career many times over, I shared some advice on how we can reinvent ourselves, become empowered by those opportunities and give back to our communities. Experian’s support of UnidosUS is especially meaningful to me. As co-executive sponsor of Juntos, our Hispanic and Latino employee resource group, I’m proud to be part of our partnership launch that extends beyond the conference. As part of our United for Financial Health initiative, Experian is supporting the organization’s Financial Empowerment Network (FEN) which provides free, financial coaching for Latino families. I have always been passionate about financial inclusion because I believe it helps empower people to be independent and take care of their families. This is especially true for immigrant communities that already must deal with the challenges of acclimating to a new country, culture, language, and more. Since joining Experian, I have been involved in initiatives that look to expand access for disenfranchised consumers, and a huge portion of my volunteerism has been devoted to educating this community about the benefits of intentionally managing their budgets and what are the best ways to gain access and handle credit. It’s not just UnidosUS affiliates and members who will benefit from our cross-cultural work. Our new Spanish-language consumer education e-book, credit education articles in Spanish, and the new monthly #ChatDeCrédito launched during Hispanic Heritage Month are available to all consumers. Having credit education resources available in-language is just one of many ways we can help those who have faced barriers to accessing credit and financial tools. We look forward to our partnership with UnidosUS and continuing to empower the Hispanic-Latino community.

Black History Month launches in the UK today. Throughout the month, we’ll be holding a series of events to support Black British people to realise their personal financial and business aspirations. Look out for webinars on Credit Scores and Property Investing on 6th October and Credit Scores and Entrepreneurship on 13th October, with guest speakers including Kazeem Alli-Balogun, Sebastian Newby, Stephanie Taylor, Rachael Twumasi-Corson from Afrocenchix, Ismail Oshodi and Raphael Sofoluke. Register here. The last week of October also sees the launch of the first Experian Entrepreneur Challenge, a 5-day bootcamp helping Black micro-entrepreneurs define the roadmap towards business success. The week includes topics like how to spot opportunities for business expansion, and formalising business and funding growth, with special guests from Experian teams holding masterclass sessions on topics like market research, marketing and recruitment. At the end of the week, entrepreneurs will pitch for £3000 worth of funding to help grow their business. Participants will be uploading video diaries over the course of the week, which takes place from 27th October onwards – you’ll be able to check out their experiences on our YouTube channel here. Finally, the Experian team will be sharing personal experiences and career advice at two exciting events, Black Tech Fest and UK Black Business Week. We’re proud to be sponsors of both events. Watch out for more updates and ways to join in virtually nearer the time!

The historic civil rights organization, the National Urban League, kicked off its first-ever virtual national convention recently, and Craig Boundy, former Chief Executive Officer of Experian North America had the honor of joining them. National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial and Craig announced our new partnership that will support financial inclusion and credit education. During the announcement, Marc mentioned one of the key findings of the Urban League’s 2021 State of Black America – The New Normal: close to 17 percent of Black households lacked basic financial services, compared with three percent of white households in 2017, the last year for which FDIC statistics are available. He characterized this as a “disastrous and disproportionate impact of the COVID pandemic on the economic stability of African American communities.” We believe working together will make a big difference in the lives of underserved consumers. As part of our United for Financial Health program, Experian is providing National Urban League members access to credit education tools and services like consumer credit reports and Experian Boost™, as well as resources for small businesses. As Craig mentioned in his remarks, “at the heart of this partnership is knowledge: when you understand financial services, you come to understand the financial system. You can take steps to create and improve a relationship with financial service providers. That can make a huge difference today, and for future generations.” This partnership is just the start of our relationship with the National Urban League, and we look forward to working together towards closing the wealth gap and empowering consumers to achieve their life’s goals.