Women of Tally: Pushing for more inclusion and opportunity in the workplace

Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the sweeping strides women have made in just a few generations, and I’m reminded of my duty to take the baton from all the women who came before us and pushed for equality.

I also recognize the privilege my peers and I have at Tally, working for a company that not only empowers us every day as women, but enables us to empower the lives of others. Women of Tally extends this legacy of working to afford all women of increasing freedoms that did not exist 100 years ago, like owning a personal bank account, voting in elections and receiving equal treatment in federally funded schools.

There’s still much more work to achieve greater inclusion and opportunity for women in the workforce. At Tally, we’ve created an organization for women employees to engage meaningfully with each other and carry out events on social, personal enrichment and philanthropic fronts. Women of Tally is more than a work group, experienced when you’re stepping out for an afternoon stroll or reaching out for a bobby pin — it’s a sense of knowing you belong.

Mariah Drussel, who works on our People Operations team, says Women of Tally provides her with a support structure. “I have a system of people who always give me time when I need help, and they believe in me,” she says. “I feel set up for success.”

Watch Video: Celebrating Women of Tally

Our goal in 2019 was to establish a community for women and jumpstart initiatives to help each other grow. In 2020, we’re still focused on developing people, but with an added focus of becoming more communally involved.

Community involvement

In fulfilling our first of two philanthropic projects for the year to build community, we chose to partner with the ROSE Women’s Foundation, a nonprofit helping East African women break the cycle of poverty through financial literacy, micro-investments and education for their children.

The examples of the women ROSE has supported, with little to no resources prior to ROSE, is awe-inspiring. ROSE’s mission to teach business skills and provide childhood education for its members, often widowed or single mothers, is completely in line with Women of Tally’s mission to prop up women everywhere.

“I have a system of people who always give me time when I need help, and they believe in me. I feel set up for success.” — Mariah Drussel, People Operations at Tally

We’re collecting new and gently used wallets until March 12 for the women of ROSE’s well-deserved earnings. Through business education for mothers and primary education for their children, it’s our hope these families have already begun planning for the day they won’t have to rely on the loans or gifts of others and can become self-sustainable. 

Support and inclusion

To ensure we’re fostering a supportive and inclusive environment at Tally, we surveyed Women of Tally members to get a better sense of what’s deemed important.

Vicki Ni, an analyst on our Business team, says it’s important to have women in leadership roles and all-around commitment to Women of Tally’s success.

“I personally feel that my voice is heard when I speak up and I'm actively encouraged to say more,” she says. “My manager is very supportive of making sure I have whatever I need to succeed,” she adds.

Gaby Lopez, with our Recruiting team, echoes a similar sentiment of being encouraged to lean in.

“From the beginning, Tally has always made a point to expose employees with options to present at Tally’s company wide gatherings” she explains. “I felt heard when my manager approached my team to make a presentation for National Women's Day in 2019 and was invited to help with a video for Hispanic Heritage Month as well.”

Looking forward

What we do next, and how we do it, will work to add the next vibrant brushstroke to the burgeoning fintech landscape — and ultimately define who belongs in that space.

“I personally feel that my voice is heard when I speak up and I'm actively encouraged to say more. My manager is very supportive of making sure I have whatever I need to succeed." — Vicki Ni, Business Analyst at Tally

Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures and a member of Tally’s Board of Directors, has been at the forefront of conversations about diversifying the workplace for many years. “Savvy companies are quietly changing up their boards of directors and teams,” she wrote in 2012, “and this is giving them better collective intelligence, more community admiration, and better financial results.”

Henny Durate, part of our User Success team, shares what so many of us have witnessed, or experienced personally before, and underscores the thoughts we hold for the future. “Women serve an important voice. I've been in many rooms where a woman is too afraid to speak or voice out her opinion, so we miss that,” she says. “But as I've grown in my career, we are getting louder, bolder and more passionate. I think that's beautiful. I'm excited to see what we do next!”

Same here, Henny.