Credit Karma Inc.

12/07/2020 | News release | Archived content

Paving the way for a more equitable financial future for all.

Mission

Credit Karma was founded in 2007 with the mission of championing financial progress for all. To achieve this mission, we must proactively work to deconstruct the inequalities that exist within the financial services industry to pave the way for a better, more equitable financial future for all.

Credit Karma's Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

Credit Karma was founded in 2007 with the mission of championing financial progress for all, including Black communities and those who have historically been left behind as a result of the inherent inequalities that exist within our financial system.

Credit Karma began its journey in combating the systemic injustices that are present in our industry by providing consumers with access to their own financial information for free because we believe everyone should have access to their own data and information.

When we think about how fintech companies can positively impact the financial services industry, we see an opportunity to help bridge the financial gap for underserved communities and help people build wealth. For Credit Karma, that means helping our more than 110 million members gain access to financial products, like an auto loan or mortgage, knowing these are key ways for people to build wealth.

Our product now touches nearly every aspect of a person's financial life, including the purchase of a car or home, application for a personal loan or credit card, and more recently for U.S. members the opening of a savings or checking account - all for free. As we look ahead, we envision a future where everyone has a path to achieve their financial dreams - irrespective of race, color, marital status, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or veteran or military status.

We recognize that our ability to deliver on this vision depends entirely on the culture and environment cultivated from within. We cannot build a product that represents the diversity of our members and the differences of their collective experiences without a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.

We are dedicated to building and celebrating a diverse workforce, an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion, and leverages that diversity to create a workplace where Karmanauts feel safe to bring their whole selves to work.

Pay Equity

In 2019, we implemented a new compensation structure aimed at eliminating pay disparity in the workplace. We did this because it was the right thing to do as a company and for our employees. Credit Karma now conducts a quarterly pay equity analysis using an independent, third-party company to ensure employee compensation is fair, equitable and competitive within the market.

Improve our hiring and recruiting programs

Recruiting. Credit Karma is dedicated to recruiting from a diverse talent pool, including those who are just entering the workforce. For example, we partner with Jumpstart in the U.S., one of the world's most diverse shared talent networks that focuses specifically on university hiring. Through this, we are able to engage with and build talent brand awareness with historically excluded communities, leading to a more diverse hiring pipeline.

Hiring. Our team is deliberate about creating talent communities and outreach to hire women and underrepresented minorities. In addition to making sure we have a diverse talent pipeline, we're implementing processes to help eradicate unconscious bias that may exist within the interview process.

Specifically, Credit Karma has recently introduced structured interviewing (SI) across all teams. 'SI' reduces bias and increases diverse perspectives by standardizing interviews and the interview process for all candidates. Teams and Hiring Managers build an interview process workflow including, candidate workflow, focus areas and question banks related to those topics, hiring and leveling rubrics so that every candidate has a fair and equitable interview experience. Beyond that, we have implemented diversity interview prep which includes hiring manager training and unconscious bias training for hiring managers.

For our Engineering organization, which makes up the majority of our workforce, every people manager regardless of level will have an interview that focuses on their previous success in building diverse teams.

Amplify a diverse employee experience

Employee Resource Groups

Internally, we are focused on ensuring every Karmanaut feels supported and represented at every level of the business. We currently have 18 active ERGs that fall within the following categories: Shades of Karma, Women of Karma, Lives of Karma, Faiths of Karma and Parents of Karma. Together, these employee-led groups work to unite and support historically excluded and/or marginalized groups so that everyone's voice can be heard.

All Karmanauts can be members of ERGs, regardless of whether they share the particular affinity or lived experience, as long as they turn up to the spaces with the intent to be an ally or associate of the ERG.

Each ERG has an established leadership structure which is responsible for communicating community needs to the company and senior leaders.

Expand sponsorship programs and mentorship internally and within our communities

Sponsorships. We will continue to partner closely with conferences and initiatives aimed at increasing skills and abilities within the Black community and those of underrepresented groups, such as AfroTech and other conferences with a strong intersectional focus.

Programs. We will increase our proximity to programs within the community that provide for career development and coaching opportunities for Black people, people of color and those who have historically been excluded. In particular, we hope to partner with Dev/Color, NextPlay and Black Girl Code.

Mentorship. We will improve our internal mentorship programs and look for ways to expand mentorship opportunities for employees within the community. Right now, Credit Karma offers mentorship sponsorship through opportunities within its Women in Tech ERG, as well as an engineering mentorship program.

Externally, we plan to expand mentorship opportunities in areas like Women in Security, coding and data science.

Overall, our efforts will focus on building lasting partnerships and sponsorship opportunities outside of the traditional conference structure. As we expand our support within the community, we will look for ways to champion financial and professional progress for our Black and historically excluded communities.