Celebrating Women’s History Month
We’re excited to celebrate Women’s History Month by catching up with the co-leads of our Sisterhood+ employee resource group (ERG). Sisterhood+ is an inclusive group that supports, empowers and celebrates women and gender non-conforming people at Robinhood with the core values of Community, Advocacy, and Learning and Development. Sisterhood+ celebrates women’s achievements and contributions all year long and helps build programs and opportunities to nurture and support the careers of Sisterhoodies.
Now let’s meet Claudia Del Rio (Customer Experience Associate, Social — she/her) and Steph Guild (Senior Director, Investment Strategy — she/her), to get their perspectives on Women’s History Month, and learn how the Sisterhood+ community is celebrating!
Can you share your perspectives on the meaning and importance of Women’s History Month?
This month is very special for me and for our ERG Sisterhood+. It’s a reminder and time to celebrate how far we have come and to empower each other to put ourselves and our dreams first. It’s also a reminder that we still have some work to do — gender inequality still negatively affects women in many aspects of life. Women’s History Month is a good time to strategize how we can continue to nurture and grow our Sisterhood to lift up other women. I’m fortunate to have the Sisterhood+ community at Robinhood to support and celebrate that mission. — Claudia
Women’s History Month for me is a time to be grateful for the incredible strides women have made in the world, reflect on the challenges and setbacks women have faced, and express gratitude for what women have contributed to the world we have today — from my own family to women changemakers. It’s also important for us to focus on paying it forward, continue to make progress, and expand our efforts and movement to be as inclusive as possible — which is why co-leading Sisterhood+ with Claudia is so rewarding. — Steph
The Sisterhood+ Employee Resource Group is incredibly impactful in the lives of Robinhoodies. Please share some of the history of this group and how it has evolved as Robinhood has grown.
Sisterhood+ was the first ERG I joined when I came to Robinhood. It started out really small in 2017 as the first Robinhood ERG with only 17 members. Since then, Sisterhood+ has steadily grown into the large community of Robinhoodies we are today.
As of March 2022, we now have a community of over 600 global members, a dedicated and talented group of 15 leaders, a total of 7 local chapters, and an executive champion, our COO, Gretchen Howard — all working towards our mission to be “an inclusive group that supports, empowers and celebrates women at Robinhood.” — Claudia
While a focus on supporting each other has always been there, we have evolved as the world has. As we moved to being primarily remote, we have grown our leadership team to include local chapter leads. This allows for both centralized events to hear different perspectives across the country, while also providing ways to feel a sense of community in your own backyard amongst the sisters with local events, lunches, and volunteer opportunities. Finally, we know that sisterhood is not defined by one gender. We want to be as inclusive as possible to those across the gender spectrum and recently changed our name to Sisterhood+ to reflect that. — Steph
What does Sisterhood+ have in store for this month?
Sisterhood+ has some really exciting plans! One project we are dedicating a lot of effort to is our first Sisterhood+ Mentorship Program. We have a dedicated group of 22 mentors and mentees that we have matched together from various departments in the company. The aim is to provide support, sponsorship, and guidance to our members as they grow their careers at Robinhood. Mentees and Mentors also have mentorship coordinators who help them schedule sessions, give guidance, and do regular check-ins on how the mentorships are going. We have had incredibly positive feedback so far and look forward to growing this program this year! — Claudia
For this month, we are planning internal events for our Sisterhood+ group around the theme of “paying it forward” and empowerment. This includes highlighting our women’s many talents to our entire community — we have authors and artists and a comedian! Beyond Women’s History Month, we have plans to continue our work all year, including paying it forward externally through a partnership with a philanthropy aligned with our goals.– Steph
Finally… Sisterhood+ is an amazing community to find mentorship, guidance, and role models. Who (personally or professionally) has made an impact on your life?
For me, my mother has easily made the biggest impact in my life. She is the strongest woman I know and constantly motivates me to believe in myself and push through challenges. She also encourages me to take risks and always think big! Professionally, all the women in our Sisterhood+ leadership team have made a huge impact — they’re dedicated to our mission and extremely hardworking. I appreciate how supportive our group is and how we always celebrate our wins together. — Claudia
When I really think about it — so many have. From a personal perspective, I come from a long line of women that did what they had to do for their family and future generations. I carry their legacy with me, almost as fuel to be the best role model I can for my own children. On a professional level, in particular I had a manager early on in my career that made me feel seen. She always let you know that she noticed when you did something that was a leap for you or handled a tough call from a client, for example. I try to carry that into my relationships, in all aspects of my life. When people feel seen and understood, there is no limit to what you can accomplish. — Steph
We are always looking for more individuals who share our commitment to building a diverse team and creating an inclusive environment as we continue in our journey in democratizing finance for all. Check out our open positions — we can’t wait to hear from you!
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