FinTech is revolutionising the financial services landscape at breakneck speed. It is a global phenomenon, with cities such as Paris, Hong Kong, Nairobi, Jerusalem and Sydney becoming FinTech hubs, and joining the established hotspots of London, San Francisco and New York.
And while technology and business models are changing fast, the issue of gender diversity is still lagging behind. A Financial News analysis of Dow Jones Venture Source and Factiva data reveals that, of the 20 European FinTech companies that received the largest venture capital investments in 2014, none had a female chief executive.
The Digital Finance Institute issued its first White Paper, on the topic of diversity in FinTech, “Power Women in FinTech”written by Sam Maule and Christine Duhaime from the Digital Finance Institute, and enabled by SWIFT and Innotribe.
The paper draws upon existing research to highlight the reality of today’s situation in FinTech, and it provides recommendations to achieve and accelerate greater gender balance within the industry.
The paper presents a global index of over 400 Power Women in FinTech. The index includes founders and women at various levels of management, commending the positive impact of those who are driving the FinTech ecosystem forward.
The paper serves as an eye-opener on the gender diversity gap. FemTech Leaders White Paper
The paper was released on June 3, 2015 in Canada, in keeping with its Canadian roots, at Digital Finance 2015, the first Canadian FinTech conference, in Vancouver. It is a compelling read for anyone involved in the financial industry. The question for the FinTech community on gender diversity is ‘if not now, when?’