Women in Fintech Interview – The Future of Women in Industry

As part of our ‘Women in Fintech’  campaign, we are delighted to interview our very own Head of Business Management, Olga, to hear her views and insights as to the role of women in the Fintech sector, as well as assessing the unique contribution that women can bring to the industry.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be interviewing other leading senior female executives from across the industry and will be publishing our own report to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Fintuity’s Head of PR, Nic Cobb interviewed Olga  this week to hear here thoughts as to how the industry can change.

As we look to commemorate International Women’s Day on the 8th March, would you mind saying a little more about the campaign that Fintuity is running and what it hopes to achieve?

Thanks Nic, absolutely. I think the very first thing to notice and question that might come to every woman’s mind is Why there are so few women in finance or in tech? 

There are a few reasons in my view as to why women may not be advancing to the top corporate ranks as quickly as men are and I will explore them below.

One is a lack of role models. In the coming weeks we will interview two of my female mentees who are trying to progress their careers in finance and ask them who they see as their role models and explore what specific challenges they face.  

Secondly, if we look at different statistics comparing female vs male executives. What may come as a shock to many is that according to the European Banking Authority, only 8 percent of chief executives at European credit and investment institutions and a fifth of positions in management bodies at Europe’s largest banks, are taken by women. Slightly higher but still low is that at U.S. financial services firms, women accounted for just under 22 percent of leadership roles in 2019, according to the most recent analysis from Deloitte. (Source https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/business/gender-equality-finance-industry.html)

Thirdly, women over the course of their career will often need to take parental leave – this is a huge factor for many employers that unfortunately influences their entire career path. Becoming a leader involves much more than being placed in an executive position. By using the skills you have you can break barriers to get high results for both the business and yourself.

There is also a very good article that I would suggest you read that explores this in more detail:

In short the article states the following conclusions: Organizations often undermine this process when they advise women to proactively seek a leadership role without also addressing the policies and practices that communicate a fundamental mismatch between how women are seen and the qualities and experiences people tend to associate with leaders.

The article also highlights how supporting a woman’s motivation to lead in the corporate world will also increase the likelihood that others will recognize and encourage her efforts—even when she doesn’t look or behave like the current generation of senior executives that are often male.

Effective leaders, regardless of sex should develop a sense of purpose by pursuing goals that align with their personal values and advance the collective good. This allows them to look beyond the status quo to what is possible and gives them a compelling reason to take action, despite personal fears and insecurities. Such leaders are seen as authentic and trustworthy because they are willing to take risks in the service of shared goals. By connecting others to a larger purpose, they inspire commitment, boost resolve, and help colleagues find deeper meaning in their work. When asked what might be holding women back in their organizations, they often say:

“It’s nothing overt. I just feel less of a connection, either positive or negative, with the guys I work with. So sometimes I seem to have difficulty getting traction for my ideas.”

Fintuity has shown incredible support to me personally and I hope we will continue raising awareness about our company and how important it is for us to bring more women into this very technically challenging and male dominated industry – we have made a great stride forward but there is still much to do!

That is great, in light of this how important would you say initiatives such as this are and has anything like this been tried before in the fintech sector?

Diversity of thinking is needed in all industries and organisations.

It supports growth and development & helps teams generate a greater number of creative ideas and solutions. There are many articles in the industry press that showcase the statistics and outline the problem, however I don’t really see the financial institutions improving things to a great degree despite the rhetoric. To be honest, people in general for one reason or another still do not seem to believe or support the specific contributions that women in FinTech can make.

Female industry entrants, like my mentees at one of the London universities for example simple don’t know who they can look up to in the sector and progress as a woman in a male dominated workplace. Another common concern is how they can compete with often hundreds of male applicants at their various job interviews when they apply to the banks or many other financial organisations.

What was the inspiration behind the campaign?

There are  number of articles that raise awareness of the role of women in the industry and whilst they try to make sure that the reader is aware of the problem, there is very little that is seemingly being done to make the change in the industry that is needed.

Therefore we launched the campaign to highlight the unique role and contribution of women as well as the practical steps needed to boost numbers in the sector.

Can you tell us a little more about your role at Fintuity and what it is like for a women to be working in an otherwise male dominated sector? Have you faced any challenges?

When the Fintuity founders founded their business, they knew they wanted someone who’d connect the customer focussed advisors with the back-office IT side of the business – two very separate parts of the business and each has a unique culture.

It has been said that women can be great at connecting people, they listen carefully, they can be softer and this nature can help us overcome certain problems. We can use this advantage to support our work and I make sure that the two very different sides of our company work in an aligned form and offer mutual support to achieve our common goals.

Whilst we are still a largely male dominated company and industry, we are keen to effect change – with 90% of the candidates that come to us being male, I think it’s so important to showcase that financial advisory and FinTech isn’t just for men and women can play a unique role.

We started working together when the Fintuity platform was still very new and in the early days we were always looking at different parts of our platform, thinking about the client journey and working through a number of challenging scenarios – as difficult as this was we got there through collaboration. As a company we are at the very beginning of a long path but we want to create experiences for our clients and become a part of their financial life for many years to come.

I would say that it was definitely a challenge for me at first but through a creative and personal team approach, I believe that the founders have both listened to me and acted upon my advice. I hope we will continue being a great example to other FinTech businesses.

If so how did you overcome them and what advice would you give to other women in the industry?

I would advise you to use your own personal advantages and focus on the things you know you can do rather than on the problems we are facing – in short be positive and proactive. Try to find out people who will listen to you, be strong and concentrate on the things that you excel at.

My own mum, who is my role model, is a senior executive in another very male dominated industry and she once told me that I should not be to downhearted when men disrespect me and that I should not try to be like men or like anyone other than myself. I have always tried to follow this advice.

You should understand your unique leadership style, your strengths and believe that your possibilities are endless. Many have broken the barriers, but more work is needed – if you are positive and true to yourself you will achieve all that you set out to achieve.

Introducing Fintuity – The UK’s Digital IFA

Fintuity are an online advisory firm that blends technology and sound financial planning which  offers you an engaging, efficient and flexible service from the comfort of your own home! We offer the full range of IFA services via our digital platform, at below industry rates and at your convenience. Get in touch now with our friendly team of professional IFA’s to see how we can assist you.

For all enquiries please visit www.fintuity.com or contact Fintuity’s Communications Manager, Nic Cobb at nic.cobb@fintuity.com.

Please Note: All information, references and dates included in this article were accurate at the time of publishing.