As it gears up for another year, Fintech Week London, the premier event celebrating innovation in the fintech industry, is joining forces with SafeSpace Plus, to create a safer and more inclusive environment for its attendees.
By partnering with SafeSpace Plus, Fintech Week London hopes to enable comfortable participation for all individuals through a conference-wide Code of Conduct. This Code requires all participants, partners and speakers to consciously commit to psychological and physical safety for all attendees, ensuring that each individual can participate fully in an environment where differences are embraced.
Developed by The Inclusion Plus Institute, SafeSpace Plus provides a comprehensive framework for building effortless, safe, and inclusive environments. It explained that its Code of Conduct incident reporting tools and participant support enable organisations to instil a culture which embraces diversity, nurtures trust, and fosters psychological safety, proving to increase engagement across events by up to 76 per cent.
Fintech Week London is set to return for a fourth consecutive year of highlighting and celebrating the innovative fintech scene in the capital, including its flagship conference on Thursday 13 June.
Around four in 10 female keynote speakers at tech conferences reported instances of sexual harassment; according to recent research from Esono via SafeSpace Plus. While Fintech Week London has not experienced any of these reports at its previous events, the statistic spotlights the inequalities that continue to plague the events industry and reveals the growing need for a focus on fostering safe and inclusive environments at events as we advance.
All attendees at the upcoming Fintech Week London event will be required to sign the Code of Conduct. Backed by a clear policy of repercussions should anyone breach the agreement, the event will utilise the reporting tool designed by SafeSpace Plus to enable attendees to formally and anonymously report these incidents.
Backing diversity, equity and inclusion
Joanne Dewar, founder of Project Nemo, a campaign connecting disability inclusion experts with business decision-makers within fintech, commented: “This partnership not only marks a significant step towards a more inclusive industry, but also underlines the critical role that diverse perspectives play in driving forward the financial technology sector.
“Diversity and inclusion goes further than just discussing race, gender, sexuality and some of the other more heavily discussed inequalities. Through this partnership, Fintech Week London is fostering an environment where every voice is heard and valued, especially the ‘1 in 5’ individuals living with a disability in the UK.
“We’re not just shaping a more inclusive fintech community, but also ensuring that our sector remains at the cutting edge of innovation, redirecting the course of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
Raf De Kimpe, CEO of Fintech Week London, also explained the importance of the move: “We pride ourselves on curating the very best fintech content every year, provided and consumed by a diverse network of exhibitors, speakers, and attendees.
“Without these strong and innovative minds, who hail from a variety of backgrounds, Fintech Week London simply would not be able to deliver on the broader topics within our industry, which so many attendees come to the show to learn about.
“We’ve been vocal about the inequality in gender and pay gap that still exists in the finance industry and made sure we did our part on and off stage. With this partnership, we are taking action and not only creating a diverse event, but also making sure we’re creating a space where everyone feels safe and included. We hope we inspire other corporate events to follow suit.”
