Hayley Sudbury is the founder and CEO of WERKIN, an analytics platform that uses behavioural science to “[make] the connection between career development and diversity, equity and inclusion.”
“I was conflicted about the opportunities and satisfaction a career in finance gave me, while also seeing the lack of role models like me, a lesbian woman, at the top,” she wrote in Women Who Tech, recalling her previous career in financial services.
With a goal of making mentorship available to everyone, WERKIN aims to help underrepresented talent get ahead in the workplace.
“Beyond mentorship, it’s also about encouraging active sponsorship and connecting the dots for busy leaders to bring employees – particularly those from underrepresented groups – into the mix,” she wrote on Women Who Tech. “While mentorship remains an important component of career development, sponsorship goes beyond the coaching and advice provided by mentors. Sponsors use their authority to actively advocate for and foster the careers of those they sponsor.”
By connecting successful entrepreneurs to workers at various stages of their careers, particularly women, Hayley is hoping to offer support and visibility to those in underrepresented groups.
Before founding WERKIN, Hayley worked in the automotive, energy, finance and business sectors. She was also the experience designer at SMITH, a London-based company composed of a “diverse collective of explorers, dreamers, thinkers and leaders,” and the chief taster at The Tasting Sessions, a passion project she started with fellow Aussie transplant Angella Newell.
Hayley has won and been nominated for a series of awards in the tech and diversity and inclusion fields, including being listed on as a Financial Times’ Outstanding Top 100 LGBT+ Executive, a finalist in the Champion for Women – Women in Banking and Finance Awards, and being named as a Courvoisier The Future 500 Entrepreneur.
Tags: apps, Diversity and Inclusion, LGBTQ+, Women in Tech
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