Monica Long believes in the power of communities. As head of RippleX, she leads a team that inspires and enables a global community of developers to build a more open and competitive financial ecosystem. And as the Executive Sponsor of the Women at Ripple Employee Resource Group (ERG), Monica is creating an inclusive space for women in tech to share, learn and support each other.

Monica has been part of Ripple since near the beginning, joining the company in 2013 as Director of Communications. At a startup with just a handful of employees, she had the opportunity to contribute to the company’s growth in ways outside her direct area of expertise. As the company grew, so did Monica’s remit and responsibility, and she took on the task of creating a world-class marketing organization. 

Now she’s building another team as both Ripple and her career continue to evolve and expand. RippleX is making it easy for developers to enable the Internet of Value through services and tools built on the XRP Ledger. And as these developers create smarter, more effective financial applications, they increase access to services for more people across the world.

One of the keys to Monica’s development is that she is never afraid to throw her hat into the ring when an opportunity arises, even if she doesn’t have all of the relevant experience. She believes that many women, especially in the tech world, don’t put themselves forward for roles because they don’t think they’re qualified enough. Instead, as Monica regularly advises her friends and colleagues, women should stop underestimating themselves and take chances in order to open more career development doors.

The tech industry, and particularly the crypto space, is often male-dominated. But  Monica is certain that by providing more ways for women to celebrate successes and build community, Ripple stands out as a place where women feel supported and have equal opportunities to thrive. 

Monica also belongs to the Parents at Ripple ERG which provides resources to parents and provides another community of support and encouragement. Through these ERGs, employees are able to be their authentic selves and build a culture of belonging.

The effort to increase inclusion is not only about eradicating systemic inequality and creating better working environments but also driving success. Monica also points to research that shows the positive impact of more diverse teams on a company’s bottom line. For her, it makes sense that collaboration involving a team of people with different backgrounds, perspectives and life experiences will lead to better business outcomes than a more homogenous group.

Once again, it all comes back to the power of communities. Whether she’s leading the growth of a global network of developers who can use XRP and the XRP Ledger to increase financial inclusion or ensuring that more women in the tech industry feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, Monica is driven to create solutions that allow anyone to contribute to a more equal financial system and a fairer global society.