The Fintech industry is one of the most vigorously expanding fields in the financial world. It is currently valued at $395 billion, and will soon grow up to $1.76 trillion billion in 9 years. Yet, despite this vast economic growth, women only amount to a small percentage in this industry.
It’s not as if women aren’t contributing enough to the industry. Take Arundhati Bhattacharya for example, who became the first female chairperson of SBI – State Bank of India. Kalpana Morparia, on the other hand, worked at ICICI Bank for 33 years and raised the bar for women by breaking the glass barrier. Internationally, Mariquit Corcoran paved the way for women in finance and banking with her 20 years of experience, and Sallie Krawcheck founded Ellevest – a wealth management firm.
These are just some of the many examples of women in Fintech, who’ve contributed a lot. However, there still seems to be a lack of demand for women in Fintech.
Therefore, keeping this in mind, let’s delve into the role of women in Fintech – their current state in the industry, their scope of empowerment, and how is technology helping in this endeavor.
What is the Current State of Women in Fintech?
Globally, women make up 22% of all employees in Fintech industry. In India, that number further drops to 14%. Considering the fact that India is way ahead in adoption of Fintech, i.e., 87% compared to 64% globally, this number does not portray positive outlook. In Fintech boardroom, women account for 11% of the total strength.
However, the one glowing sign of women progressing in this field are the number of startups. Women-led startups are increasing by the day, and a lot of them are catering to the needs of various women from all marginalized sectors. Needs and issues which weren’t brought up earlier, started to get addressed. Hardika Shah of Kinara Capital, Swati Bhargava, co-founder CashKaro, Puja Srivastava, Co-Founder Spocto Solutions are some of the women leading the game
Moreover, women are also breaking through the already male-dominated industries such as IT, Finance, and Banking. They are rising to the top through years of hard work.
While there are positive signs for the growth of women in Fintech, there is still a long way to go. The UNCDF’s Inclusive Digital Economies and Gender Equality Playbook suggests that financial inclusivity could be the biggest boost to women’s empowerment. A UK-based study found that women still earn 22% less as compared to their male counterparts in Fintech. There are efforts to bridge this gap.
Shattering the Glass Ceiling: Important Strategies for Empowerment
One of the first and foremost challenge women face in any workplace is ‘Gender Inequality’. It is no different in Fintech sector. But the gender inequality isn’t as blatant as it seems. Instead, it spreads across the industry in the form of ‘Gender Bias’. In its subtlest form, gender bias is simply marginalization of women in various Fintech sectors.
Rachel Carpenter of the company, “Intrinio” calls for the urgent need of ‘Normalization’ of women in the workplace to combat this issue. Her theory of Normalization suggests that women be treated equally as men in every minute decision-making process. An extra importance placed on women above men is also part of the issue since it calls for more attention.
For example, setting up a panel titled ‘Women in Finance’ isn’t really ‘Normalization’, but just inviting women as part of the panel about finance is normalizing it. Not questioning them for maters that usually go unquestioned for men is also helping fight the problem.
Other factors like payment, promotions, bonuses, etc. should also come at the right time for women as they do for men. This will not only break the barrier for them but also help the firm generate more profit.
Leadership Effectiveness rated that women are better leaders. Venture capital firm FirstRound Venture suggested data that companies with female founders performed 63% better than those run by male. With these statistics, it becomes a positive situation for hiring and empowering more women into the Fintech sector.
Also, typical definitions of various characteristics like leadership, management, etc. need to be looked upon once more. This is because most of those traits were historically designed with male counterparts in mind.
Lastly, addressing women-centric issues on a regular basis that can be tackled through Fintech will help the course.
Women are at the Forefront of Driving Innovation in Fintech
Keeping the marginalized sectors in mind, and the various other issues of women that need addressing, women are developing innovative financial products for the same. For example, apps developed by financial companies that collect real-time data on essential goods are now used by women to make informed decisions about their financial lives.
Women Led companies in Fintech India are playing crucial role by bringing unique perspectives, unique solutions and as mentioned focus on inclusivity.
To drive this empowerment forward, women are also promoting financial literacy among young girls and women. Also, Fintech is allowing women to borrow money from investors worldwide via micro-lending platforms. This wouldn’t be possible before the advancement of Fintech.
Inclusivity, fresh perspectives, and renewed leadership traits are some of the other aspects where women are innovating with Fintech too.
How Does an MBA in Fintech Program Help Women?
An MBA in Fintech management can help women have wider perspective about business and its impact on society. More importantly, they would be able to contribute to solution related to financial accessibility to all. Here are some aspects where women can benefit from by studying MBA in Fintech:
- Fintech imparts a combination of financial and technical knowledge, that can enable women climb up the corporate ladder and reach positions of power and leadership.
- Women can build their network in the Fintech world after pursuing an MBA in the same.
- An MBA degree in Fintech will impart them with knowledge about the industry, not just textual but practical. This will go a long way in helping them finding solutions in their career whenever they get stuck with a problem.
- There will be multiple more career opportunities for women once they study MBA in a burgeoning field like Fintech.
Although the numbers are still low for women in Fintech, they are making waves in this industry. So many of them have broken the glass ceiling by starting and running successful startups. Others have reached the summit of their companies by dedicating years of their life in companies.
However, with the emerging trend of technologies and AI, that show that women-driven roles are fetching more in returns, things are looking on the upside for them. After industries have realized that hiring more women have resulted in more effectiveness and better ROIs, things are looking positive for women in Fintech.
