Ashton Montgomery-Norris

Your Story:

I am a Senior Customer Success Manager for Encompass Corporation, working closely with a number of Tier 1 Financial Institutions headquartered in the UK and the US. I am based out of Encompass’s Glasgow office since 2018, and in addition to delivering success for Encompass’s customers I participate heavily in Encompass’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) group, with particular contribution to the LGBT+ and Mental Health & Neurodiversity working groups and their output. I also recently represented Encompass as part of the UK Government’s Department for International Trade’s North America Roadshow 2023 in April 2023.

Prior to Encompass, I worked for Glasgow-based loyalty startup Swipii, training software provider Administrate, and Titanic Belfast. I hold an MA(Hons) degree in Mediaeval History & Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews, and in my spare time I enjoy travelling and eating great food with my husband and watching and performing in musical theatre.

Your Impact:

I'd like to be featured on the Pride Powerlist because I feel all of us have a part to play in making our workplaces and sectors more inclusive and representative, especially in both Financial Services and Technology, and I believe that I've helped with that work so far through my role at Encompass.

At Encompass, I've taken a strong lead in our EDI group and headed up our LGBTQIA+ working group, creating internal resources on LGBTQIA+ terminology, personal pronouns, and even introductions to LGBTQIA+ topics in popular media. I've also organised an external speaker to give a talk on Queer Representation in Videogames, which proved extremely popular across our different departments and offices, and created a great talking point amongst teams with little or no awareness of LGBTQIA+ themes.

I'm extremely proud of this work, and especially of the work I've assisted with to update our internal policies to help Encompass provide clear inclusive parental leave for all types of families. This should benefit all employees across Encompass's offices and hopefully inspire other companies in our network to follow suit.

I was also privileged to represent Encompass as part of a Scottish Financial Enterprise event on Building Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace, speaking alongside other Financial Services professionals and sharing my own experiences as a gay man in FinTech and how I've navigated my path. I feel strongly that, although I have overcome some prejudice myself in the workplace as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I also have a responsibility to use my privilege to uplift other voices and create a equal, diverse and inclusive workplace where possible.

Your Advice:

My advice would be not to settle for workplaces which do not appreciate you or offer you safety as an LGBTQIA+ employee.

You bring a huge amount of talent and diversity to the FinTech sector and you deserve to have that recognised and protected.

FinTech also offers a wide range of roles beyond tech development where everyone can participate and where you can make a real difference, so don't be afraid to get involved!