Whilst the FinTech sector is making leaps and bounds when it comes to improving diversity and inclusion, there are still a number of challenges for women in the industry.
Currencycloud recently hosted a Women in FinTech, Lets Talk! event where those involved could hold a space to share learnings over their careers from entry level to CEO and help support female development in the sector.
While some of the challenges raised including societal issues such as getting more girls to take up coding and science in school those involved agreed there were constructive steps that FinTechs could take to make the field more appealing and inclusive.
First of all, a key topic that was regularly raised was that of making the process of hiring and easier and more adaptable to women lives.? Katya Dorofejeva CEO and founder of Kapaga gave an example of when an interviewee needed to be in the playground with her children at the time of the interview, so Katya took her own children and had the conversation in the playground where the children were playing.
Dorofejeva added, ?I always try to adapt my interview to the needs of my candidates. The playground meeting was definitely the right call, the candidate felt at ease, and we both found common ground.p>
Meanwhile, Arabella Podmore, talent acquisition partner at Spendesk, said she is constantly looking to hire more women in a male-dominated industry. She noted the need to be aware of unconscious bias when hiring, and that a good way of getting people through the door used by other Fintechs is to remove the photo and name from the application process, removing bias at the very first stage.
Another area was dealing with patronising colleagues. Currencycloud underlined that the issue of mansplaining, where technical solutions are over-explained to them by men. Tired of being ignored and patronised as women in male-dominated Fintech, many agreed that women in leadership roles in FinTechs should be paying it forward to actively hiring and promoting women and mothers.
Currenycloud concluded, ?Fintech is definitely dominated by men. The numbers dont lie. Several of the attendees of Women in Fintech, Let Talk! felt women in FinTech need to be careful not to overcompensate being in this environment by giving, say, a question coming from a male colleague more importance than one coming from a female colleague. We all need to be more mindful of this, even though this undoubtedly happens unconsciously.p>
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