Embracing equity on International Women's Day: Cogo's commitment to diversity and inclusion

At Cogo, we’re dedicated to supporting women and girls in our community through partnerships, mentorship, and volunteering. We believe that by empowering people with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed, we can create a more just and equitable society for all.

Equity in the workplace is a concept that has gained an increasing amount of focus in recent years. 

The International Women’s Day 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme seeks to get the world talking about why "equal opportunities are no longer enough". While equality in the workplace is about treating everyone the same regardless of their background, equity is about acknowledging and addressing the fact that not everyone has had the same opportunities or experiences. 

Equity means creating a level playing field where everyone has the opportunity to thrive by identifying and removing barriers that prevent individuals from accessing the same opportunities, resources, and rewards as others in the workplace. Equity has come a long way over the past few years, with tech companies implementing equity training, equal pay for equal work initiatives, increasing the number of women in leadership positions and running scholarship programmes to promote tech education and opportunities for women, minorities and under-represented groups. 

At Cogo, we’ve been on a mission to break gender bias, and we’re proud to say that 80% of our leadership team is female. We’re also privileged to partner with and connect with inspiring female leaders around the world, such as Dame Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest. In 2019, Alison launched The Rose Review, which set out to identify the disparity between male and female entrepreneurs when starting and scaling businesses, and the barriers facing women.

Alison Rose says “we will double down on our work to ensure entrepreneurs can start new businesses and existing firms can get the guidance they need to prosper.” Read more about the 2023 Rose Review here. 

Despite the ongoing commitment and significant efforts made to promote equality, there is still a long way to go. Women and other underrepresented groups continue to face barriers and challenges in their careers, from unconscious bias and discrimination to a lack of access to opportunities and resources. 

According to Cogo’s Head of People Experience Rachael Fitzjohn, real progress can only be achieved by identifying and acknowledging issues that still persist: “We should all be working harder to ensure that our working environments reflect our societies.  We all have a role to play and just like greenwashing in the carbon reduction space, we need to stop pretending that we are doing things when we are not.  I fully admit that Cogo still has a way to go here too, but I feel proud of the fact that we have been open and honest about the fact that we are not where we should be and that we have work to do.

Cogo’s CEOs Emma Kisby (EMEA) and Julie Lindenberg (APAC) recently shared their personal experiences and how they take a confident and solutions-focused approach to promote equity in the workplace, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries such as tech. 

On this International Women's Day, let’s embrace equity and commit to supporting and amplifying their voices. If you would like to contribute to this conversation, please share your own experiences and insights on this LinkedIn post or learn more about how green fintechs are redefining gender representation in finance.