Women In FinTech has launched with a mission to make a real and lasting impact on equal gender representation in FinTech. The effort is powered by Instantor and intends to tackle international problems encountered by women in the sector.
Sweden is well known internationally for ranking highly when it comes to gender equality. However, there is a sizeable gender imbalance in specific fields, like FinTech. Stockholm School of Economics’ 2018 Stockholm FinTech Report unveiled that only 38% of employees in the FinTech sector in Stockholm are women.
FinTech is playing a pivotal role in shaping the financial industry landscape, but the growth of this industry will remain unfulfilled unless diversity is prioritised
When looking at other European stats, the situation is not brighter. A report from Atomico found 46% of women have experienced some form of discrimination in the tech industry. The FinTech landscape outside Europe is not free of obstacles for women either. Comments from international colleagues make this apparent.
“Women have made a lot of progress to break through the glass ceiling, however, within tech and especially in FinTech, there is still a lot of room for us to continue to improve. Moreover, FinTech is playing a pivotal role in shaping the financial industry landscape, but the growth of this industry will remain unfulfilled unless diversity is prioritised”, comments Raiha Buchanan, CMO at Instantor and Co-Founder of Women In FinTech.
Women In Fintech welcomes women from all levels of seniority, countries, sectors and disciplines with an interest in finance. The
initiative is in its early stages, but it aspires to go beyond mere inspiration and instead aims to support women to achieve their ambitions in FinTech, in Sweden and internationally.
“We welcome women from the industry making a difference in the lives of millions by harnessing the power of disruptive technology in finance, whichever specialisation they have, even those who are just curious to learn more about FinTech”, concludes Helene S. Westerlund, CTO at Instantor and Co-Founder of the initiative.
Women in FinTech will host bi-montly meet-ups to provide a platform to connect women in FinTech. The platform will facilitate women sharing tips on becoming even more successful in a male dominated industry, collaborating across companies and provide women with perspectives outside of their own company.
