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As gender equality and diversity in business and tech have become a widely discussed topic over the past few years, it may be the perfect time to start thinking about how women entrepreneurs and thinkers have changed the fintech sector. The changes are subtle, yet significant. More and more women are playing big roles in the fintech sector at different levels. Many of the developments in fintech focus on design accessibility and rapid technological developments, thanks to the role played by women.
Rapid Development of the Industry, Thanks to Women
As women were more widely included in the industry, it started to meet users’ expectations with greater ease. The implementation phase was also significantly easier, and cyber-security levels increased significantly, as emphasized in a Bloomberg panel that took place recently. Products also became more reflective of the user’s needs and concerns, but also more adaptive to those. As women enter the industry, it becomes more diverse, thus more functional.
Since women entered the industry, more intuitive technology was integrated into fintech. For instance, speech-recognition developments and capabilities were widely adopted, as previous versions of this kind of technology found it difficult to identify women’s voices and the nuances in them. Although those products were based on sophisticated technology and had impressive AI capabilities, they were designed by men, which made it difficult for women to use them easily.
Homogenous work environments do not offer the necessary environment to find the best solutions to problems. This is especially true in the FinTech sector, which makes it mandatory for all companies in the industry to attract more opposing mindsets and ideas to what already exists out there. This can only lead to better financial services and products in the future.
Data Proves the Positive Influence of Women in Fintech
According to multiple studies in businesses across a variety of industries, including the fintech sector, inclusive teams show better results and adoption of development plans. Also, the decision-making process runs smoother when women are involved. The data speaks for itself:
- Business decisions of diverse teams were more effective in 87% of the cases, as compared to the decisions made by non-inclusive teams.
- The decision-making process was two times shorter than it was in the case of those non-inclusive teams.
- The decisions made by diverse teams are significantly more efficient, sometimes by even 60%.
The data above can be found in numerous Bloomberg reports. However, specialists in the field say that the results are only accurate in the case of those fintech companies that are truly diverse, not only look diverse. For better changes, the diverse parts of similar teams have to play a decisive role and have to be heard and listened to. Their ideas have to be implemented, especially in the fintech sector. Only in this way, can better inclusion and product development be achieved.
Leading women in the industry also have great advice to offer small startups and businesses of all kinds. As women start to occupy leading positions in fintech and businesses become widely aware that there are alternative banking solutions than the traditional ones, they have to be informed and get a deeper knowledge of the field.
Further Gender Inclusion Will Make Alternate Financial Technology Services Better
As like many tech-related industries, the fintech sector is still dominated by men. But how might a better gender inclusion lead to deeper, more profitable changes for all stakeholders? While women’s full potential in the industry hasn’t been reached, it’s important to gain some perspective and see what women could bring to the industry in the future.
Being supportive of women as an integral part of product development teams in the fintech industry could help the big players in the sector tailor more suitable and flexible financial and banking products. A change of perspective can be healthy and productive for all businesses, but especially for those that base their entire activity and product development on data processing and artificial intelligence — and the fintech sector is a field which does both. The change brought by women could revolutionize the industry, and as women become role models for the youth that aspire to find a career in the sector, a the number of women in fintech could reach unexpected levels in the near future.
Women are, after all, half of the target market of fintech companies. Without women in the sector, their expectations and needs are unlikely to be met. For companies, this should be a strong enough motive to attract, train and retain women employees. Therefore, companies should actively seek to hire more women and integrate them in key positions of the decision-making process.
These are only some of the ways in which women changed the fintech sector for the better. However, the number of women in key positions in fintech companies still needs to increase. Women bring a perspective shift and developments that men only couldn’t bring, but in spite of women’s potential and the proven profitability of diverse teams, more inclusion has to take place.
