At Marqeta, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are core to who we are and how we create an environment where every Marqetan belongs. It’s been incredible to see our ERGs come together and commit to finding so many new ways to celebrate in 2022.
We’re proud of the fact that Marqeta ERGs hosted over 50 experiences for employees to join throughout the year. These experiences ranged from workshops that inspired a sense of action to music sessions and trivia events that brought our communities together, both virtually and in person.
Let’s look back at some notable events from 2022:
With cross-collaborative experiences, Marqeta’s ERGs embodied our core value that “Everyone Belongs”. An impressive 22% of ERG experiences were cross-collaborative, meaning that two or more ERGs came together to organize and host an event.
- Empowerment 101 workshop with IMPACT Bay Area: In a partnership between BlackCard, MQ Proud, RepresentAsian and SWiPE, the groups hosted a virtual empowerment workshop. Participants learned to develop intuition, situational awareness, congruent body language, and verbal skills to de-escalate and deter assault and harassment.
- Open Mic Symposium in commemoration of Juneteenth and Pride Month: Blackcard and MQ Proud co-hosted an open mic symposium in June. The event was kickstarted with a history of Juneteenth and its connection to Pride Month. The audience and participants then shared stories, ideas, and topics around the theme: Our stories of equality & impact: Continuing the fight, where I come from and where I’m going.
- Women in History Trivia Event: In September, as part of Latin/Hispanic Heritage Month, Hola ERG and Women’s Group collaborated on a Women in History Trivia Event on Kahoot. This hybrid event challenged participants’ knowledge of Latin & women-identified people (past and present) that made an incredible impact around the world.
Virtual events enabled interconnection between remote and in-person employees, helping to embrace our #FlexibleFirst workplace model. Our workforce is now 58% distributed and we’re constantly in search of ways to stay inclusive and bring Marqetans together. In 2022, 55% of our ERG experiences were virtual and remote-friendly.
- Marqeta’s Diwali Celebration: Our Desi ERG hosted a hybrid Diwali event in October, celebrating the rich history of this special moment of the year for many communities across the world. We enjoyed music, dance, and virtual games together in a hybrid setting.
- Experiences of Fellow Marqetans, Career Pivot Panel: Our Hola ERG hosted a thoughtful virtual panel discussion with current Marqetans about their professional career and pivots into fintech and key learnings along the way.
- BlackCard brought Afrobeats to Marqeta: Over a span of 3 days, BlackCard ERG led a virtual voyage to Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa by paying homage to the dances originating in those countries. The dances included the Azonto, Shaku Shaku, and Gwara Gwara led and taught by community choreographers.
These are only a few examples of the many moments for community and connection in 2022. But ERG efforts were not limited to experiences within Marqeta. ERG members also had a hand in driving community and recruiting events, including participation and attendance at the Afrotech 2022 Conference, the Society of Women Engineers Conference, and Oakland Pride, just to name a few.
We thank everyone for their contributions, passion, and dynamism this year. In 2023, we kick off the year with Celeste Narganes, our new VP of DE&I joining our team and we’re excited to continue and bolster our efforts around community-building and connection at Marqeta — look forward to updates in 2023.
Learn more about what it’s like to work at Marqeta here: https://www.marqeta.com/company/careers
