The Fintech industry is considered to be future-forward, but does this also apply to closing the gender gap? According to recent studies, we’re far from it. While female employees make up less than 30% of Fintech roles, those in executive positions drop to 17%. For tech-related positions, these percentages drop even further. Despite these challenges, we believe that change starts before a candidate is even hired; and we have the agency to put it into motion.
By 2025, despite the pandemic’s impact, the fintech industry is estimated to grow by 20% and hit $305 billion in market value, meaning that the gender gap will widen even further.
With this in mind, we reached out to our team of expert consultants to get their thoughts on bridging the gender gap in Fintech and Tech.
According to you, does gender bias start during the recruitment process? If so, what steps can we take to eliminate this?
“Over the last couple of years I’ve seen that companies are working hard on diversity hiring and having a good balance in the team. It’s easier said than done as the industries we serve are male dominated, so there’s still a lot of work to do to get women interested in the tech industries.”
— Rogier Rouppe van der Voort (CEO, PCN & Digital Source)
Deloitte’s labor force report explains that 30% of the FinTech workforce is female while only 17% of senior FinTech roles are held by women. Why do you think this is the case?
“Not only in Fintech, but in every single industry out there, there exists a huge gender gap in senior positions. However, in Fintech this gap is even larger than other industries. According to me, this stems from the fact that the system has been created for men and by men (it can be seen in the whole ecosystem of the Fintech industry — from founders, employees and even customers, it is all dominated by men). The time is now to close the gender gap, because how are we supposed to tackle diverse problems, without diversity.”
— Sophie Nicolai (Junior Recruitment Consultant, PCN)
From your experience, are female candidates more likely to apply for non-technical positions compared to technical ones? (i.e: More female applicants for marketing or human resources compared to software engineering positions.) If yes, please elaborate.
“Having worked for both technical and non-technical roles within the fintech ecosystem, I have noticed that women are most likely to directly apply for non-technical roles. However, I have noticed that companies are increasingly looking for diversity within their teams, and are often looking for female candidates in tech positions. I hope that this trend will keep growing and that more female candidates will directly apply to technical positions!”
— Megane Urvoy (Recruitment Consultant, PCN)
84% of women feel unequal compared to their male peers when talking about professional or academic accomplishments. Have you noticed this ‘self-promotion gap’ when speaking with candidates?
“This is a bit of yes and no. At times, I feel I have to pull a bit more information out of women candidates about their accomplishments. This doesn’t happen too often, however it could also stem from the company culture of where they are currently or recently employed. I hope in the future that this won’t be the case as every accomplishment is just as impactful, no matter the gender.”
— Craig Norris (PeopleOps Recruiter, PCN & Digital Source)
Can you share with us 3 steps for recruiters to reach out to female candidates?
“For me, change should start from the very beginning. Even when it comes to sourcing candidates, social media platforms like LinkedIn could create filters to identify female talent in a more accessible way. I also believe that consultants should lean more heavily on their network, in order to get more referrals and recommendations for women in tech roles. Coding academies are also a great way to reach out to female talent.”
— Keith Hudson (Managing Director, Digital Source)
Should companies provide further opportunities/projects/initiatives to close the gender gap in fintech?
“I would definitely say that they should continue providing initiatives to close the gender gap for women. This gap is not going away in the short-term, so we have to work on the long-term goals. We need to start speaking more about the empowerment of women and their success in the world. If we work on our acceptance, I think we can move forward with less bias and a more diverse mindset.”
— Jacqueline Mühlhausen (Graduate Recruitment Consultant, PCN)
Are you following our Women In Tech Week?
From October 11th – 15th, and together with our sister brand Digital Source, we will be dedicating our channels to highlighting the voices of women in tech. Join us as we reveal a new content piece each day, in an effort to bridge the gender gap and promote gender equality for all.
