Financial Empowerment

As Serasa Experian’s Corporate Sustainability Manager in Brazil, I’m dedicated to my job promoting diversity and inclusion efforts at work.  But it also happens to be my passion. I believe that companies have a responsibility to reflect the diversity found in society, giving everyone equal opportunity to excel regardless of color, gender or disability. And yet, while a lot of companies over the years have made great strides toward hiring a diverse array of people, sometimes the harder — yet more impactful — work is making sure that diverse group of employees can continue to develop professionally after they’re hired. To this end, Serasa Experian’s Business Network for Social Inclusion (Rede Empresarial de Inclusão Social) launched a program called the Top Talent Project, which encourages and accelerates professional development once someone with physical disabilities is hired. I don’t want to simply hire people with disabilities; I want to ensure they can be productive and grow in their roles. While people with disabilities can bring great experience and skill to their positions, they may need some help integrating into teams. That’s why we work closely with each new hire, their managers and their mentors to guide them on a daily basis. If someone is hearing-impaired, for example, they may know only sign language and not Portuguese, making it difficult for them to communicate with their team. Through the Top Talent Project, we train new hires to communicate at work with their Portuguese-speaking coworkers. And then we give sign language training to their team members! We work hard to create a working environment that ensures success for everyone. In 2016, Serasa Experian received the United Nations Good Practices for Workers with Disabilities Award for our inclusion work in Brazil. That same month, I also was honored to receive the Empregueafro Award from the City Council of São Paulo for promoting ethnic diversity. All these accolades make me so proud because they’re a reflection of the way we at Experian take care of our people. Ten years ago, I changed careers so I could focus more on making the world a better place. Serasa Experian has given me the opportunity to do just that.

In 2012, employees across Experian’s Turkish office began a program to promote financial awareness and education for young people ages 18-30, which we called the Manage Your Future Now Project. For young people pursuing higher education in universities, financial literacy is a required life skill, especially since many depend on educational loans and credit cards to pay for their education. Bad loan management resulting in a poor credit score can hurt the financial future of these students. We found that most local universities lack the human resources necessary to train students on the topic. We decided that the best way to promote financial literacy was through a peer education model. Using this model, we would train volunteers to help their fellow students calculate their credit risk, manage their budget and understand the long-lasting effects of bad credit. We partnered with the Turkish Credit Bureau, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Happy Thought organization to launch the program.  With our partners, we provide a two-day training session for student volunteers in Istanbul. We give our volunteers the resources and tools they need to train others on financial risk, while also training them on how to present the same materials to others. These volunteers then go back to their local communities to train their peers through one-on-one sessions, or – if they generate enough interest at a university – organize a conference where they invite Experian experts to share their knowledge with a group of 100 or more students and faculty. The Manage Your Future Now Project has become a leading contributor in improving the financial skills and knowledge of young people and improving the financial literacy rate throughout Turkey. Since we began the program, we’ve reached more than 8,500 people and offered more than 100 training courses at universities, carried out by our growing number of volunteers. For me, the most rewarding part of this project is helping inspire and equip these students. I recently traveled to a university in Turkey as a speaker, giving a financial literacy conference to about 200 people. After I taught them about their credit scores and ways to secure their financial futures, one of the students came up to me, telling me how passionate he was about financial education and how eager he was to become a peer volunteer with the Manage Your Future Now Project. Our team at Experian was able to help convince his family to let him join the program so he could attend a training session and become a speaker in that city. To date, he has met with and educated more than 100 fellow students, guiding them through the program’s tools. Understanding how finance works has a huge impact on people’s daily lives, because it’s relevant for both their present and future welfare. It’s amazing to see year after year how we are helping change people’s lives in Turkey, by opening new doors for them as they understand how to manage credit.    

International Women's Day is all about celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action. At Experian, we work hard to create a culture of inclusion as we believe the diversity of our skills and life experiences allow us to better serve our clients. With this in mind, our campuses around the world curated a programme of inspiring speakers, workshops and tours to highlight the opportunities that are available to women in the technology sector. Women across Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, United States and the United Kingdom had the opportunity to hear from women leaders across our organisations. Below are just some of the events that took place across our regions to celebrate International Women's Day: Brazil Brazil hosted an impressive panel of influential women both from within Experian and other organisations including: Banco Original and U.N. Women. The ‘Inspiring Girls in IT’ event was attended by girls from local schools as well relatives of Experian employees. “People used to say that IT was the future and I wanted to be economically independent,” said Hewlett Packard Bell’s Claudia Braga speaking at Experian’s Women in IT event in Brazil. The panel debate and workshops gave the girls an insight into career opportunities within IT as well as a chance to learn from woman who have already forged a successful career in the sector. Colombia As well as hosting an event for young women to learn more about technical careers, our Colombia office also released a special edition of its quarterly Credit Indicators Newsletter focusing on women and credit. One of the key findings from the report found that 1 in every 5 new credit lines is given to female micro- entrepreneurs -- who doubled their loans in the real sector. There’s also a whopping 62% annual growth of revenue-generating credit products for women between the first quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2016.  “When it comes to credit and entrepreneurship in Colombia, we can certainly say the future is female,” said Mauricio Angulo, Experian’s managing director for Spanish LATAM. Costa Rica To celebrate International Women's Day, our Costa Rica campus invited four women from their IT department to share their stories on why they pursued a career in IT. The panel included: Lead de Quality Assurance and Compliance Tatiana Salazar; Software QA Analyst and President of Experian´s Employee Solidarist Association, Cindy Vargas; GSA Client Apps Manager, María Valverde; and Lead de Service and Delivery team, Monica Barrantes. England Four of our UK offices took the opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day by holding local events as part of their 'Women in Experience' networks. In Nottingham, the team invited senior women for Experian to share their success stories with local girls; it was also a chance for the girls to find out more about Experian’s culture and career opportunities. The women in our EITS office held a lunch and learn session with young girls from the area to share job insights and offer advice on how to secure a position in the tech industry. As part of the celebration, the UK team also took the opportunity to sit down with some of the innovative women who work within Experian to glean some insight into how they overcame adversity in what is considered a male dominated industry. Laura Blackwell who works within our IT Service shared her advice on how women can secure a job in IT. “Stick to your guns, even in the face of adversity. If you enjoy doing IT, don’t let anything put you off achieving your dreams. It’s also a good idea to find a company to work for that will allow you the sort of flexibility to learn about different disciplines that I’ve found here at Experian.” United States Our team in Costa Mesa, California held a ‘Women in Experian' Expo, which included an executive speaker panel who shared their insights and thoughts on this year's event theme 'Be Bold for Change.' From awareness-raising to concrete action, attendees learned about how these executives demonstrated boldness in their careers to eliminate bias and foster inclusive work cultures. Hiq Lee, President of Experian’s Business Information Services Unit shared her own experiences on how she secured her role at Experian and offered some advice for young women in the audience on how to ask for workplace opportunities: “You are deserving of every opportunity,” said Hiq Lee, President of Experian’s Business Information Services Unit speaking to young women at Experian’s North American event. The IWD event in Costa Mesa was  streamed live on Periscope and clips from sessions from both Brazil and the United States were featured on Snapchat. The team in Allen, Texas encouraged Experian employees to bring their daughters, nieces and sisters to their ‘Future Female Technologists’ event. The panel included top female Experian employees to share their insights and expertise about how to pursue a career in technology. DeMarcus Brown, who works within Enterprise Systems Management, and Jessie Montano from our Firewall team provided an update to the girls on the range of Early Career options available at Experian. We’d like to thank all of our teams from across the globe for their commitment to helping women and girls achieve their ambitions. Our role in promoting gender equality is increasingly important and we will continue to dedicate our time and resources to help women lead.  

The benefits of financial education are clear — higher economic growth, lower poverty rates and greater consumer confidence. This is why we put education as a top priority.

I am a Senior Business Analyst in Experian’s office in Bulgaria. When refugee camps in my country first began filling up with Syrian refugees, I went to help as a volunteer. Since Experian had helped with similar initiatives for those in poverty in Bulgaria, I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer so I could inform other Experian employees of ways they could volunteer in the future. And now I can see that happening, as Experian is about to embark on a new volunteer project as a result. When I first stepped into the refugee camp as part of my own volunteer efforts, it was evening and nearly winter. I came with two volunteers, each carrying bags of clothes and food. No one can really prepare you for the conditions you witness in the camp, and they’re difficult to describe, too. Families had staked claims in small spaces by hanging up curtains, and while some families had the luxury of a bed made from a basic mattress, most people slept on the ground. As I made my way through the camp, I met a family of 12, including a small baby. I was overwhelmed by the welcome they gave me as they invited me to stay and talk with them. A few of them spoke some English, but the rest just wanted to communicate to me in whatever way they could. They graciously prepared me a dinner in traditional Syrian style — couscous, with vegetables and sauces. The meal was like a small celebration for them. They were delighted to even have my attention. Before I left, they sang me a traditional Syrian song that brought tears to my eyes. These people were a normal family — just like mine. They may be from a different country, speak a different language and have different cultural traditions, but I felt a strong sense of kinship to them. My experience grew in me a desire to do more for refugees coming to our country and bring more people along to help. I decided to apply for funding for Experian to work alongside the Refugee Project in a joint initiative to make a bigger, long-term impact on these people. This funding would give other Experian employees a chance to volunteer and provide refugees with the supplies they need. Additionally, Experian is in the process of organizing workshops for families who wish to stay in Bulgaria. These workshops will provide financial education to help them open a bank account, learn how our financial system works and give them the financial information they need to rebuild their lives. It means a lot to me to see what a difference we’re making and how we’re changing lives. I love knowing our work is helping people find a place to live, get a job and start their own business, as well as introducing Syrians to our local culture and customs. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world. Photo: Tram in Sofia, Bulgaria

Headlines bemoan the lack of personal finance being taught in our schools. Most students will graduate with little to no education on personal finance basics. But, with Experian’s help, LifeSmarts is making a difference for students across the country. Together, we are helping students get on the right path to a lifetime of success by equipping them with the financial knowledge and consumer skills they need to make informed, responsible choices.

2,500 university students across 16 cities have been trained by Experian's experts and young volunteers of the social responsibility project ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. The project, which was launched by Experian to promote self-improvement among university students, female entrepreneurs, and SMEs, reached the milestone in December and the achievement was celebrated at a recent event at the Experian office in Turkey. Coming from 10 cities across the country, 42 participants gathered to share their experiences. Feedback was positive with everyone agreeing that the project has been beneficial in increasing awareness of social responsibility. The participants were presented with a certificate for their commitment and contribution to the project. ‘Manage Your Future Now’ is a partnership between Experian, the United Nations Development Program and the Habitat Association/Center and Credit Bureau. The initiative includes providing training on financial risks, responsible borrowing, financial management and the efficient management of relationships with banks and the financial sector. Didem Köprücü, Human Resources Manager for Turkey and the Middle East at Experian, said: “We are proud that more people are benefiting under the ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. Our training is improving every year and I would like to thank all the volunteers and young trainers for their valuable contribution. “The third stage of our project in 2016 will cover financial risk management, as well as financial opportunities for entrepreneur candidates. For this stage of the project we plan to reach 3,000 students and entrepreneur candidates across 26 cities. “However, we intend to continue our project, reaching more people every year.” The project aims to reach 3,000 students by the end of March 2016.

Experian Marketing Services’ senior vice president of global marketing, Ashley Johnston, was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award for Woman of the Year in Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations at the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business on Friday, Nov. 14, in New York City. Johnston was also recognized with a Silver Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year for Business Services Companies with more than 2,500 employees. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world’s top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The 2014 awards received entries from 22 nations and territories. More than 1,200 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in more than 90 categories, including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Company of the Year, Mentor of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Communications Campaign of the Year, among others. “This is a well-deserved honor for Ashley and a testament to her ability to inspire and empower our organization to have a positive impact each and every day,” said Matt Seeley, president, North America, Experian Marketing Services. “Throughout the 12 years she’s been with Experian, Ashley’s initiatives have accelerated Experian Marketing Services’ go-to-market strategy globally and evangelized our employees around our brand while also placing our clients directly in the center of our business and growth.” Over the past year, Johnston successfully led a global initiative to bring Experian Marketing Services’ portfolio, go-to-market strategy, culture and client base under a single, consistent global brand, for the first time. As a key part of this initiative Johnston introduced progressive and differentiated programs focused on driving lead generation, client engagement, awareness and sales-enablement support. Most notably, Johnston led the recent launch of the Experian Marketing Suite, a comprehensive, end-to-end marketing solution that enables brands to create and deliver authentic customer experiences every time, in any channel and via any device. The Marketing Suite showcases the power of Experian Marketing Services’ portfolio, which previously had been siloed into four business units, dozens of products, distinct client sets and cultures. Expressing her gratitude, Johnston added, “It’s an honor to be recognized alongside such an impressive roster of accomplished and exceptional women from countries around the world. This award is evidence of the success story of the Experian Marketing Services business and the talent of my team that continues to inspire me each and every day.” Experian Marketing Services was recognized with four Stevie Awards during the 2014 American Business Awards, all for work that Johnston and her team spearheaded, including the Client Summit, The 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report, a global internal communications campaign and the cross-channel marketing platform. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards were presented to winners Friday night during a dinner event attended by more than 400 people at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The presentations were broadcast live across the U.S.A., and simulcast around the world, by Biz Talk Radio, and will be featured in a television special on Biz TV in January. Stevie Award winners were selected by more than 160 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process this year.

Experian Consumer Services in association with Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America, recently launched a Spanish-language, credit-focused product and online financial resource center for the U.S. Hispanic community called Crédito y Más. The new product was developed to improve Hispanics access to credit education and resources. With Crédito y Más, consumers can check their credit score, receive a credit report, and have credit monitoring, among other benefits and access the information in Spanish or English. One of the most valuable features is the Centro de Información™, a robust resource center with articles, videos, financial calculators, a glossary of key credit terms and more.