Bridging the gender gap – is British fintech finally catching up?
Fintech has the potential to expand fair and equitable access to financial services, but as recent reports show, there is still a long way to go to bridge the gender gap. Inside fintech organizations, things are changing, but barriers still exist.
A report from EY from June 2022 shows that 76% of the women who work in the sector believe that their company is inclusive and 56% say it is diverse. In connection with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), 94% of female Fintech employees at junior and intermediate level say that they are able to express their views and suggestions at work, 89% say that they are motivated to do the job and 78% say they are able to be authentic at work.
Eight out of ten women say they feel valued for their work, and 86% of start-ups say they are treated with respect by their team, compared to 97% in an upscaling.
But not everything is positive. Among junior and middle-level employees, 63% of female respondents say that their gender affected how they are perceived professionally, compared with 27% of men. And 80% of women say that their ideas are followed, compared to 94% of men.
In terms of compensation, 42% of men said they negotiated compensation, compared to 32% of women. About 69% of men got all or almost everything they asked for, compared to 51% of women.
Of the female Fintech entrepreneurs surveyed, 45% feel able to raise equity, compared to 62% of men. And while 31% of women say they have access to debt financing, 44% of men say they can.
Barriers to progress
It is clear that there are improvements that need to be made. Let’s go back to the first EY statistics: 76% of women in Fintech think that their company is inclusive and 56% say it is diverse. Compared to a male perspective, the difference is strong: 95% of men believe that their company is inclusive, and 77% say it is diverse. If men are so significantly more positive about corporate diversity and inclusion, making changes to achieve equality will be more of an uphill battle.
Second, women-founded and managed organizations have less access to equity and debt financing than those founded by men. And third, when it comes to hiring and employee reviews, female employees are less likely to negotiate salaries and bonuses.
Why change is important
Aside from doing the right thing, attracting and retaining talent is also important for growth and revenue. In 2019, the UK Fintech industry generated approximately £ 11 billion in revenue, accounting for approximately 8% of total financial services production in the UK, while as Finextra reported earlier this year, UK Fintech investments rose to $ 37.3 billion in 2021. It is an increasingly important industry for Britain.
So much so that an independent study of Britain’s Fintech growth opportunities was commissioned by the Treasury, which flagged talent shortages as a problem. Fintechs must engage talent to innovate and scale, so along with the qualification of workers and new visa flows, it is crucial to attract and retain women in the workplace. Creating a fair and attractive work environment is the key, and there are plenty of fintechs leading the way. Here we put the spotlight on three employees from FinExtra Job Board.
1. Zopa
Zopa is already well established and is celebrating its 17th anniversary. It received £ 220 million in fundraising late last year, and although revenue for 2020 was around £ 30 million, CEO Jadiev Jandarna says he expects full revenue for 2022 to be more than £ 150 million. Zopa’s management team has female representation with Clare Gambardella as Chief Customer Officer, Merve Ferrero as Chief Strategy Officer and Helen Beurier as Chief People Officer. As the EY study shows that female-founded and female-led fintechs attract a higher proportion of female workers than male-founded ones, and emphasizes the importance of positive role models, it is hopeful to see gender representation in the C-suite. Meanwhile, the organization’s Inside Zopa blog series updates readers on what the organization is doing to tackle their pay gap. See what opportunities exist at Zopa on the Job Board.
2. Monzo
As the EY study showed that female employees were less likely to negotiate salaries and bonuses when they joined, but they were prepared to negotiate their work arrangements, such as flexible planning; It is useful to look at organizations that already have flexible work in place. Monzo was already profiled as a fintech organization that offers great benefits for parents, and that offers flexible, external and part-time roles. This gives applicants more room to negotiate salaries and bonuses. Monzo has also been honest and open about the gender pay gap, for example when it was highlighted by
Penalty for pay gap between genders, tweets: “In 2021, we reduced our average pay gap to 4%, down from 20% in April 2019. We reduced the gap by hiring and advancing women to senior roles, including positions on our executive committee and top management.” See the update on salary differences between the sexes on the Monzo blog, and see what is offered on the Job Board.
3. PayPal
PayPal acknowledged that Covid-19 reversed the trend towards economic justice, saying in an article for International Women’s Day 2022: “We believe we have a responsibility to expand the role and participation of women in the financial system and the global economy.” In addition to pledging over $ 100 million to promote the financial inclusion and economic empowerment of women and girls at the Generation Equality Forum in 2021, PayPal says it maintains “100% gender equality globally since becoming an independent company and has provided strong family leave policies. ” See the Job Board for more information about PayPal as an employer and to see available job opportunities.
Want to see which UK Fintech companies are hiring? Visit the FinExtra Job Board for hundreds of more roles, and bookmark the link for regular check-ins.
