Pagaya recognized the importance of embracing its inclusion mission of “helping to deliver more financial opportunity to more people, more often” beyond its work with partners and saw a need to cultivate this inclusive culture internally with its employees. Pagaya wanted to celebrate our differences and strengths, cultivating space for our workforce to be their truest selves, with their voices being heard to achieve our common goal. In this way, we could be the living proof of creating a world where everyone can win.

So, by aiming to foster an environment where all employees feel valued, respected and included, Pagaya identified the intrinsic link between diversity and innovation, understanding that a diverse workforce stimulates creativity and problem-solving, while also enhancing overall business success. The company’s leadership recognized a need for employees to understand and appreciate the importance of diversity with more education and advocacy.

To meet that challenge, Pagaya took proactive steps to organize a series of activities, educational initiatives, events, celebratory moments and ways to actively participate in volunteer and advocacy opportunities during Diversity Heritage months, such as Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, Women’s History Month and Pride Month and shared them all with employees around the globe. A few specific examples include:

1. Pagaya marked Women’s History Month by hosting inspiring and informative sessions with internal and external speakers around this year’s theme - DigitALL: innovation and technology for gender equality.
2. To honor Pride Month, Pagaya provided a comprehensive suite of educational materials for employees with a dedicated site on its intranet portal.
3. Pagaya held events in New York and Tel Aviv to celebrate diversity and inclusion during diversity heritage months to honor the accomplishments and contributions of LGBTQIA and women’s communities.
4. Pagaya created a spotlight series during these months, profiling inspiring women, LGBTQ and ally employees in blog posts that shared their experience, advice and work at the company. These influential stories were featured both internally on our Intranet and externally across social media.
5. Employees from both Tel Aviv and New York transformed knowledge into action by participating in volunteer opportunities that gave back to communities and helped raise funds for historically marginalized groups. By participating in these activities, employees were able to translate their knowledge into action, making a positive impact on their communities while strengthening their own understanding and commitment to DEI. 

Feedback from these initiatives revealed that the company had begun to successfully cultivate a culture where employees feel heard and valued, while fostering more awareness and understanding. Even with these strides, the journey towards inclusivity continues and the company learned that there is much more that can be done. In addition to the advocacy and education work done during these months, they understand that there’s a need to have sustained action to continue work beyond singular months. Discussions have only just begun.