ChimeHers’ Year in Review 2021
“When I think back to 2021, I can’t help but feel amazed at how much we’ve grown as a company,” says Riley Nichols (she/her/hers), a Chime Recruiter. “Through that growth, I’ve noticed how much more important our communities and Chimer Resource Groups (CRGs) have been in making people feel included and safe at Chime.”
For Katherine Pham (she/her/hers), a Chime IT Project Manager, 2021 was all about learning. “We kicked off our ‘Educate Her’ series of talks and, through them, our community and allies were able to learn so much,” she says.
“In the tech and finance worlds — two which Chime straddles — women are often underrepresented, which makes it even more important to empower women with knowledge,” explains Sam Berg, a Chime Head of Design. “2021 was a year for educating and empowering Chimers with our events.”
Riley, Katherine, Sam, and Syeda Lee (not quoted) are the 2021 leads of ChimeHers, our Chimer Resource Group (CRG) for women at Chime. Here’s a look at 2021 and the group’s work to drive connection and education for their community.
Moments that shaped 2021 for ChimeHers
2021 started off with the presidential inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20. That day, the first-ever female vice president was also inaugurated — Madame Vice President Kamala Harris. “Starting the year off with inauguration day really invigorated the women in our CRG,” says Riley. “We had a viewing party of the ceremony for ChimeHers members so we could all celebrate the momentous occasion.”
The year continued with defining moments featuring women. For example, Stacey Abrams helped boost voter turnout for the 2020–2021 Georgia Senate election and announced that she’ll be running for governor of Georgia again. Simone Biles set the tone at the Summer Olympics when she boldly withdrew from several events and spoke out about her mental health. And Amy Schneider broke earnings records on Jeopardy!.
“There were so many women who crushed it in 2021,” says Katherine. “They were a big part of our internal conversations and fed the topics we touched on in our CRG’s programming.” (Here’s a list we love of women who made history in 2021).
ChimeHers highlights
Throughout the year, ChimeHers hosted several events that brought together their community and elevated women in the workplace. Here are a few highlights from the group’s leads.
In March, we hosted our annual International Women’s Day brunch. This year it was virtual, but it still provided a space and time for women to gather, meet other members, and talk about what was on their minds. Everyone got to order something on DoorDash so they ‘brunched’ together over Zoom.
“I loved our self-defense class,” says Riley. “It was a fun and interactive way for us to get together and a great set of skills for us to build.”
The group also produced two different speaker series, Educate Her and Chime in with Her. Educate Her was a series of talks for Chimers to share an area of their own expertise with the group, and Chime in with Her a series for outside speakers to speak to the group.
“Early on in the year, we brought in Emmanuelle Verhagen, who is a trans human rights activist,” explains Sam. “We so often bring in speakers who fit a more traditional bill of female leadership, so it was really special to show women at Chime that there are other examples of women leaders out there.”
An essential safe space
As all of Chime continues to work remotely, it’s been increasingly important for all Chimers to have safe spaces to connect in. “For us, having ChimeHers as a place where we can discuss topics that might be sensitive with each other, learn new things, and create a sense of community, has been huge,” says Riley. “We work in a male-dominated industry, so having ChimeHers is even more important,” says Katherine. As the only woman on her team, ChimeHers gives Katherine a space to chat with other women about challenges, wins, and topics she might not discuss with her team members.
Although the group created many safe spaces and opportunities for learning, their work didn’t come without its challenges. Their biggest challenge of all? “You can only do so many Zoom happy hours,” jokes Riley. “Keeping our programming fresh, funky, and fun was definitely the hardest part of 2021.” The group worked hard to drive engagement and build connections with each other, finding more interactive options for Chime’s women to get together.
Looking to the year ahead, ChimeHers is excited about the possibility of meeting in person and remains committed to creating safe spaces for all women at Chime to share, connect, and learn.
