Lauren Cole-Doswell x International Women’s Day 2022
This week is all about celebrating the amazing women at Banxa!
At Banxa, we strongly believe that an inclusive working environment has positive effects on many different levels.
Our view here at Banxa is that the opportunities available to those who identify as women should be facilitated and that support should be provided not only by training more people to enter the fintech field, but also by creating a balanced and inclusive working environment for them to flourish in.
With our mission to build the bridge that provides everyone – regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, and gender identity, among other things – access to a fairer and more equitable financial system, we believe it is crucial for our team to be a true reflection of the whole society so we can build that bridge together. We believe that if a company fails to include the perspective of an individual, it will fail winning them as a customer as well.
Female-identifying and gender diverse people remain vastly underrepresented, undervalued, underpaid and under prioritised across most industries. This certainly remains the case in financial and technical fields. According to Caroline Criado Perez, the writer, broadcaster and award-winning feminist campaigner, women make up only a quarter of the tech industry’s employees and 11% of its executives. We at Banxa, want to do our part to change that.
At the moment we are proud to say that around 42% of Banxa’s employees define themselves as female and there are more to come.
To celebrate International Women’s Day and our female rockstars at Banxa, we sat down with our Global Talent Acquisition Manager, Lauren Cole-Doswell, to discuss her tech career, the ideal working environment, and what she finds the most exciting about working in the crypto industry.
Hi Lauren. Many Thanks for taking the time today. Would you mind introducing yourself really quickly?
Hi, I’m Lauren, our Global Talent Acquisition Manager at BANXA.
Great, Thank you Lauren. What are your responsibilities at Banxa?
I’m building our Talent function from the ground up! I manage our Global Recruitment Strategy and the Talent team at BANXA. My team has helped the business scale from a 30 person team to 210+ BANXA-ANIAN’s globally in the space of 18 months!
How long had you been working in the crypto / tech industry before you joined Banxa?
I’ve been exploring the world of Crypto, Blockchain and DeFi for a few years, however, BANXA was my first role within the industry, it’s been a great learning curve! My passion lies in transformative technology and hyper-growth businesses which is where I’ve spent the majority of my career. Pairing my interest of Crypto with hiring in a fast-paced fin-tech scale up has been an incredible experience.
What do you find most exciting about working in this industry?
One week in Crypto is like a year in other businesses, there is always something new to learn and a new challenge to tackle. I’m not happy if I’m not growing, so this industry is the perfect match for me.
What is the most important thing for you when it comes to a company culture / working environment?
I’ve worked in many organisations that say ‘the culture is great’ but what really defines culture? To me a good culture is ‘work hard – play hard’ where you enjoy going to work, you celebrate the wins and you grow with like-minded people, from different backgrounds! I’m lucky to be part of the revolution that is BANXA, the culture here is unique, the company’s hyper-growth = our team’s career hyper-growth. There’s also no party like a BANXA party!
You are working in a very male-dominant industry, did that have an impact on your decision to work in this industry at all?
Not in the slightest! Admittedly there is a real disparity in the gender balance in tech and the crypto industry, however as a woman in the fin-tech space, responsible for our hiring globally, I have been afforded the opportunity to make a change and close the gap. Having the opportunity to instil change in a male-dominated industry excites me.
What advice would you give to younger women who want to join the crypto or tech industry?
Your gender doesn’t define you! A male-dominated industry can only be changed if both women and men work together to level the playing field. Take a leap of faith, it will open up doors and start many conversations!
That was very inspiring! Thank you so much for taking the time today Lauren.
You have more questions for Lauren? Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.