Why the Fintech industry must prioritize gender inclusion this International Women’s Day

Written by Anjulie Patel, VP of Partnerships at Nucleus365

With International Women’s Day approaching, it is time to analyze the sector’s gender dynamics, where we are underperforming and where we can do better.

The fintech industry has a gender problem. In 2021, Deloitte research found that only 30% of the UK’s fintech workforce was female, and only 17% held senior positions. The FinTech 50 survey counts 118 men, and only six women, or 5%, in CEO or founding positions. With that, women-led startups received only 2.3% of venture capital funding in 2020.

Looking more closely at the payments sector, in October 2022 Funds Europe reported on a detailed study of 100 female financial industry professionals, 50% had experienced barriers to progression related to life events that often affect women more than men. This leads to higher attrition and career changes away from our industry, as well as less interest in the career.

With International Women’s Day approaching, it is time to analyze the sector’s gender dynamics, where we are underperforming and where we can do better.

Celebrate the female journey

Throughout our careers, women go through a series of real challenges that men cannot afford. From gender bias and stereotypes to pregnancy, childbirth and menopause, women experience unique life challenges in and outside the workplace. While 34% of women in financial services experience regular gender discrimination, 50% of women experience barriers to progression at work linked to life events. There is no reason why these factors should become taboo, feared or harm our job satisfaction, performance, workplace well-being or career aspirations.

The first and perhaps most constructive way to tackle the “silence” around these issues is to bring them up in a way that celebrates these experiences in a way that helps women find relatability and helps their male counterparts understand.

Create a platform

To do that, women must be given an equal share of the voice in public speaking opportunities. From podcasts, interviews and conference/lecture events to written content and thought leadership, the possibilities for elevating productive gender-based conversations are endless. Companies, event organizers and initiatives must recognize that an equal share of voice has a direct link to equality in the workplace and changing entrenched and misinformed stereotypes.

From my experience, the women I have worked with have always been transparent about their challenges as a woman in the workplace. Our journeys must be celebrated, promoted and equaled with our male counterparts in order to create tangible change for current and future generations.

Increased accessibility for greater equality

What prevents women from entering technology, technology or finance roles? Research shows that 81% of female students said they either did not want to join the financial sector or did not know enough about it to consider it as a career choice. Herein lies the problem. If women of all ages are not educated about the opportunities for a career in payments, finance or fintech, enrollment rates and the long line of subsequent gender imbalances will only continue. To counter this dynamic, our sector must significantly increase the volume and quality of initiatives available to women.

Accessibility measures must start as young as secondary school; access to women-centric events, curriculum adjustments and strengthening of female fintech leaders can help in this regard, but initiatives should be accessible to women of all ages. Women who already work within our sectors should be given the opportunity to discuss their experiences in internal and external arenas.

Sector-wide, fintech is growing; consistent rollout of innovative new services and products ensures that excitement and ambition are commonplace. Men have no additional skills than women when it comes to stepping in and driving our sector forward, we must understand that a diverse workplace with equal opportunities can think creatively, collaborate more effectively and champion unity. That’s what we’ve done at Nucleus365, over half of our current workforce is female and we’re better for it.

Proceeding

In order to drive gender equality discussions, relative speaking opportunities and resources must be set in motion. Women have an appetite to explore careers in finance, so we need to make this as easy as possible. Women-focused initiatives must increase, and the media in all forms must begin to portray women’s views and work experience with significantly more value and attention.