Is finance as male-dominated as it was? No, there have indeed been improvements but there is still a long way to go to reach real equality across the sector.
Some of the factors behind the lack of diversity across the industry are ingrained social issues. Bias around education, training, opportunities, and recruitment all play a major role in constraining women in finance. Ultimately, this leads to significantly reduced career progression for those women who have pursued a career in financial services.
I have worked in finance for over twelve years, starting in consulting and banking operational roles. In 2019 I joined Creditspring as the Head of Operations, Creditspring’s first hire of its operations team. It was a big risk for me to leave a large corporate environment to join a small start-up, but one I was excited to take. As Head of Operations, and now Chief Operating Officer, meant taking on a lot of responsibility and building a successful, diverse team. Over the last few years, the team has grown from five to forty – and continues to grow!
The risk of moving from a sprawling corporate to startup was one that inspired me. I believe that the willingness to take risks unlocks new opportunities. It pushes you out of your comfort zones and allows individuals to develop new skills. I think we need to take risks in order to succeed, and although it can be daunting to adapt this attitude, I think it’s an important lesson to learn. The opportunities I’ve had access to at Creditspring are ones that would not have been possible in my previous life within large corporates.
SME life requires a different skillset. It’s certainly not for everyone but there’s a huge opportunity for professionals to develop. For women, working within a positive and encouraging small business environment can unlock opportunities for career progression that you weren’t expecting.
My career path hasn’t only been defined by my roles, it has also been defined by being a woman of colour. Coming into a consulting role initially, I’ve had to trust my own expertise to battle the resistance to change of predominantly older, white men. It was clear early on that I needed to trust my expertise and my gut. I developed strategies early on of working hard, building my confidence, and most importantly, believe in myself. These strategies got me into the C-suites and allowed me to share my ideas without the constant resistance I once faced.
Women of colour are consistently underrepresented and under-hired at every step in their careers. Between entry level positions and C-suites, the number of women of colour drops by more than 75%.[1] Change is slow. So slow that in the last three years there has been no improvement in the proportion of women of colour in senior positions. With fewer women of colour in senior positions, the opportunities for women to progress in their careers also drops. The next generation needs senior mentors to build a network and learn from. We often tell younger generations to seek support and set-up a network of people that can help them. Without women in senior positions, the ability to grow this network and find support isn’t there.
SMEs need to have strong values – this is vital in attracting and retaining the best talent, growing their customer base and scaling rapidly. For Creditspring, diversity is vital to how we operate. Diversity allows us to better understand out customers and their needs. It also allows us to focus on diversity on all levels of the company, from entry to C-suite. Gender balanced leadership gives younger generations the chance to network with people like them, as well as leads to a happier and more productive workforce.[2]
For the financial and fintech industries to become gender diverse, it is crucial for individuals to see people they can relate to in the most senior positions. Leadership should represent employees, society and – most importantly -customers to ensure the business makes the best decisions whilst considering the diverse needs of its customers.
Luckily there have always been trailblazing women in business- Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Starling Bank CEO Anne Boden are two of my biggest professional influences. These are women we should be celebrating and using as examples to women who are early on in their careers. Showing others that success in a male-dominated industry is possible will hopefully inspire others and help to grow those networks that are so important.
We know that gender balanced senior leadership leads to a happier, more productive workforce – which is absolutely vital at SMEs. We know when women are in C-suite positions it inspires younger generations to pursue industries, even if they are male-dominated. Now we need to get together and break the bias. We need to create and foster a finance industry that is diverse and inclusive for all.