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Often referred to as the ‘gender investment gap’, this issue really matters because many women are likely to face a significant financial shortfall in the longer term, particularly when it comes to retirement. Of course, the gender pay gap compounds the problem which is something not to be ignored. So, being careful not to gender stereotypes, what is it that is holding women back? What are the common barriers that women face and, more importantly, how can we address these?

Let’s start with confidence, or lack thereof

Research points to women lacking confidence when it comes to investing and investment decision-making. Many women tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to investment proactivity – which of course is a self-fulfilling prophecy as it is that very experience that builds confidence.

Lack of confidence is compounded by self-perception

Believe it or not, many women hold the self-perception that ‘investing is not for them’ and,  as a consequence, avoid becoming active investors, in some instances outsourcing to partners to make the investment decisions.

Language can put women off

Yes, conversations about money can be intimidating, and sometimes this is made worse by the language and terminology used by investment professionals. In the past, the investment industry has also done little to build levels of financial literacy with their female customers and avoided resolving the problem.

We are failing women by the way we communicate about money

It’s not just the language and terminology used. It is also the core message we communicate to women when it comes to money assumptions and expectations. Linguistic research highlights that the media and advertising industries encourage men to ‘dare to invest’, subtly implying that financial success makes you ‘more of a man’. Whereas they tend to depict women as needing to limit, restrict and take better control of splurges. What can we do to turn this around? What steps can we take to support women to invest more, for their financial futures?

Start by focusing on improving levels of financial literacy for women

The investment industry itself can play a constructive role in this, so can schools and universities by teaching young women the investing fundamentals and building investor confidence. The good news is that there are more and more female-focused investment networks and solutions available now – we need more so let’s actively support these.

We need more women working in the investment industry to design and deliver better products and services for female clients

A better gender balance is critical because diversity of thought, experience, and action are core components of what the industry needs to be fit for the future. In addition, more women working in the industry will help to build trust with female customers, and will support the design of products and services better suited to women’s financial needs.

Back to communication

Let’s change the way we communicate with women on money matters. This is really important – we simply must change how we communicate with women about personal finance. This should start with stopping the portrayal of women as excessive spenders, in need of guidance to help them save and restrict. We can also highlight female role models who are making their way in the investment world in order to send the right messages.

Looking for new channels of delivery, we can leverage tech to democratise the way that women invest

Developments in tech offer us a pathway to connect and communicate with women in different ways from the past. To do that we must employ a female lens when designing tech-based investment solutions for women. In addition, we can customise investment products and services that fit best for what women are looking for today. 

What do women really want?

It is time for us to think more deeply about women’s financial needs and deliver on these. Simply rebranding products for a female audience will not achieve the fundamental change we are looking for. The industry also needs to think more deeply about the kind of products and services that women want. For example, increasingly women are seeking out sustainable and impact investing products and services to include in their personal portfolios. More and more women are prioritising environmental and social impact when considering their investment choices. It is time the industry recognised this shift and started addressing it.

Author Jessica Robinson

Jessica Robinson

The COVID pandemic has been financially tough on many women – often disproportionately so. This makes the call for addressing the gender investment gap even louder – but small steps can be taken, with potentially huge benefits to be reaped. 

About the author: Jessica Robinson is a leading expert on sustainable finance and responsible investing, and author of Financial Feminism: A Woman's Guide to Investing for a Sustainable Future. Find out more at moxiefuture.com

The financial sector isn’t alone in having a ‘woman problem’. Underrepresentation of women at senior levels has been a perennial problem in industry, tech, construction – you name it. And early indications are that the pandemic is setting back progress made towards gender equality.

That’s not to say the financial sector hasn’t taken steps in the past to try to ‘fix’ its woman problem - aka senior female under-representation - with a focus on ‘getting’ more women.  The problem is that this focus on representation rather than culture is rapidly becoming part of the problem.

Often designed by men, or by women operating in male-dominated environments, the fix tries to train women to succeed within that male-dominated environment. This doesn’t do much for diversity. The fix involves courses, programmes, initiatives, events, panel discussions, coaching, mentoring, all centred around male ideals of leadership.

These can all be helpful and have a place. But the real problem isn’t so much the women (they need to be allowed to be their unique diverse selves), it’s the male-dominated system and the lack of male allies. Brilliant people are currently busy prioritising the wrong thing.  Women’s programmes and schemes are a distraction from the real cultural problem in finance.

Focus on inclusion, then diversity

There is a catalytic effect of male-dominated cultures attracting more men because they have to adapt less and can fit in more easily. They unconsciously benefit from network effects. Men are more likely to be promoted and more likely to stay in finance jobs, especially at senior levels. Financial companies often feel male - macho brand positioning, alpha trading floors, and cavernous receptions, all projections of power.

One of the reasons women are less likely to be promoted is because they are less self-promoting. This is not a deficiency. We know from studies that whilst men are likely to put themselves forward for a promotion when they can do 50% of the job description, women typically wait until they can do 90% before putting their hand up. And the main reason they are more likely to leave is culture.

In other words, it’s inclusion that drives diversity, not the other way around. It’s culture that determines the diversity numbers. You can’t fix culture; you have to build it. The ‘fix’ then follows.

The problem is that this focus on representation rather than culture is rapidly becoming part of the problem.

Focus on demand, then supply

Most companies make the mistake of over-reliance on the talent supply side. Yes, the supply of talent is critical for a business and, yes, there are female shortages in STEM subjects. But it’s the demand side that can make or break how the supply of talent is included.

At London 2012, one breakthrough moment came by changing the interview location from the Canary Wharf office to Mile End Community Centre. By changing the system, not the candidate, we had a far better effect on the demand side and the behaviour and self-awareness of our recruiters. We achieved a step-change in diverse recruitment.

Companies can say they want women, but the real test is in whether this is a fix or a strategic cultural priority. Do they walk the talk? If they say they do, but their business model is still resistant to flexible working, do they really? If they say they do, but all the female promotions are extroverted characters that better fit in with the men, then do they really?

Make unconscious behaviour more conscious

At many global organisations, all traditionally male-dominated, we have recently conducted inclusive leadership programmes with largely male teams. The purpose of this is to hold up the mirror (to the men in particular) and reframe diversity as a leadership issue (for them personally) and to show them the powerful role they can play as allies.  By taking them on a journey over a period of weeks we can avoid the usual failing of ‘diversity training’ and instead focus on repeated behaviours that sink in over the course of the programme.  People internalise diversity as a good thing in their own self-interest and are far more receptive to seeking it out as a result.

Nudge the remaining unconscious behaviour

But training alone doesn’t work. Up to 97% of our behaviour is unconscious - to tackle the majority of our actual behaviour, we need nudges.

We deploy nudges throughout HR processes and systems. We analyse a system (let’s say recruitment) and we identify the gaps and biases in it. Then we prioritise which ones to intervene in, and de-bias them by implementing process changes (nudges).

Recent examples include presenting anonymised CVs side by side, implementing mixed panels, and recruiting and assessing groups of individuals at the same time, not individuals one by one.

At KPMG UK, in 2014, all Regional Chairmen were male and the talent pipeline was (unconsciously) largely male. We led a series of sessions involving all Regional Chairmen to map the three-year talent pipeline for the business.

They placed their initial candidates' names on a large whiteboard in red ink by groups of one, two and three years away from promotion. Then they rewrote female names in green. This showed that women had been de-prioritised in the process to date. Candidate-by-candidate they discussed the business case and the reasons for each candidate’s position and slowly and surely many women started to advance from three years out to two years out to ‘promotion ready’.

We were leading a process to point out the group’s collective blind spots. None of them was maliciously sexist or consciously discriminatory. But all of them had been susceptible to the blind spots of 1-1 promotions, without the big picture view of group aggregation.  They simply didn’t know the women as well as the men and the women hadn’t put themselves forward as obviously as the men. This process resulted in more competition, more rigour in decision-making, and more diversity in promotions

So, if you really want to solve the ‘woman problem’ and attract more female talent into finance – yes, continue your supply-side work, but focus a lot more on the demand side.  And by all means, continue your unconscious bias training but focus a lot more on the real unconscious behaviour going on below the surface.

As Bob Diamond said: “Culture is what happens when no one thinks they are being watched”. You can’t apply a technical fix to a cultural problem and expect to solve the problem. If you really want to attract more women into finance, focus on the men.

The finance sector has traditionally been perceived to be male-dominated, so robust D&I strategies are essential to ensure a career in the industry is appealing to the next generation of professionals – no matter the individual’s gender, background or ability.

According to Kyra Cordrey, Director of Michael Page Finance , the drive to attract a more diverse workforce, including women and people from BAME backgrounds, is a positive step in the right direction. In fact, around 93% of our clients are now actively seeking advice on how to improve diversity and inclusivity within their teams.

Typically, the larger, regulated firms have led the charge on diversity in financial and professional services industries and have for many years driven an inclusion agenda. As a result, they have made more creative hires and through resetting their values, which is having positive impacts on their company culture. When compared to other industries, the finance sector is in some senses, relatively balanced and displays a high level of willingness to embrace diversity and inclusion. Implementing D&I is essential to addressing the under-representation of minority groups and to ensuring that a career within the industry can continue to appeal to the next generation of financial professionals.

This trend of underrepresentation in the financial services sector, particularly at senior level, is also backed up by research. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gender diversity is low within the finance industry with women making up just around 17% of FCA-approved individuals. Despite several senior management regime changes, this figure has remarkably not changed since 2005. Currently, there is a slightly higher share of women employed at larger firms (23%) compared to smaller ones (17%).

Promoting a clear D&I programme

Finance professionals need to ensure their departments are on board with the vision and strategy set by the firm. It is important for HR managers to embed a robust D&I strategy for the business which facilitates a positive direction of movement for the company. If their company strategy has been put in place and the business is at the point at which they are publishing and celebrating their D&I success, it will become a virtuous circle of success.

It is important for HR managers to embed a robust D&I strategy for the business which facilitates a positive direction of movement for the company. If their company strategy has been put in place and the business is at the point at which they are publishing and celebrating their D&I success, it will become a virtuous circle of success.

PwC's Female Millennial Report also highlights that 85% of respondents believe that an employer’s policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion is an important factor when deciding whether to join a company. From this you can derive that a clear inclusion programme is essential factor for attracting high calibre candidates. It is also productive to have a dedicated senior team responsible for promoting this programme. For example, Heather Melville OBE is the Head of Business Inclusion Initiatives for RBS and has established the RBS Women’s Network, which aims to attract, retain and develop talented female members of staff, as part of the bank’s strategy to have a fully gender balanced workforce by 2030. She has been recognised as a leader who has made a difference to the economic empowerment of women worldwide and is now a patron of Women in Banking & Finance.

Supporting women in finance

As an employer or hiring manager, there are several improvements that can be made to the culture, hiring processes and mentoring programmes within an organisation which can better support and encourage women to strive for higher leadership roles. It goes without saying that these challenges cannot be simply solved by telling women to stop deselecting themselves. Rather, companies need to work better with aspiring women to progress their career journeys by encouraging them to share ideas and take on leadership tasks, while helping them recognise their strengths.

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Recognise strength at all levels and highlight to all that out of the box thinking and fresh ideas are welcomed, as well as respected. Such inclusive cultures encourage everyone within in an organisation to put themselves forward confidently, without the fear of failure or discrimination, which in turn ensures that women feel they can contribute their ideas and that they will be heard and valued by the business.

Men and women aren’t just different in the workplace but also during the interview stage. The interview process is a two-way evaluation. If companies do not convey the right impression to female candidates about the career progression, support, and the inclusive environment the business provides, the company runs the risk of missing out on valuable talent. We’ve also seen more organisations including both men and women in their hiring processes, for all roles.

Mentoring programmes

Mentorship is also a key tool for encouraging more women into leadership roles. Mentoring not only allows experienced senior leaders to share their knowledge, but it also affords those in junior positions the opportunity to explore their potential, as well as seek guidance on how to progress their career. Many businesses have internal mentoring programmes, but the key is to assess out how many were developed with female career progression as a key priority? The most crucial aspect of such a programme is support. A strong leader or successful role model in a senior position within the organisation can provide a wealth of insight, advice and encouragement to anyone looking to advance their career in finance. With a good mentorship programme in place, aspiring leaders benefit from fresh perspective, inspiration and the guidance needed to keep pushing themselves to reach the top.

If your organisation doesn’t have an internal mentoring programme, there are a lot of external examples which could support your business’ D&I strategy. For example, Women in Banking & Finance’s programme offers an opportunity to connect one-on-one with a fellow WIBF member. Mentees are matched to more senior mentors within WIBF and can seek career guidance, advice and support.

Diversity needs to be the tone at the top of any large business and attracting a diverse candidate pool is the start. However, to create a truly inclusive environment, providing the correct internal support is key to driving behavioural change.

This issue has been picked up by many campaigners who are pushing to eradicate the financial barriers between girls and menstruation. So, let’s talk about exactly why young girls need to be growing up in a world free of period poverty.

What Exactly is Period Poverty?

Tampon tax refers to the profits from the VAT charge of 5% applied to sanitary products and while this might be significantly less than the standard 20% VAT which applies to a whole host of other products, there is still dispute over whether we should be paying tax duties on these products at all.

A couple of retailers have swallowed the tax and a Tampon Tax Fund has been set up to support certain women's charities, but that hasn’t changed the fact that many girls are growing up in a climate where they can’t afford these essential items.

This ties in with period poverty and the inability to afford sanitary products such as tampons, but it can also relate to a lack of understanding of menstruation. Governments have come under fire for matters such as the tampon tax, which is thought to contribute to period poverty.

What Effect Does Period Poverty Have on Young Women?

On average, girls get the signs of their first period at around twelve years old, but periods can start for girls as young as eight. Not all young girls are fortunate enough to be able to add sanitary products onto their parents’ weekly shop and this has left many without access to sanitary items. Experiencing symptoms and having no access to period products means that many girls could be going through period poverty during the peak years of their education and development.

The average schoolgirl is found to take three days off each term due to period related issues and 1,000 girls said that period poverty affected their academic performance. There needs to be a solution to remedy this, allowing girls to focus on their education.

How Are Authorities Addressing Period Poverty?

In April 2019, the UK Government’s Department for Education announced its commitment to providing free sanitary products across England’s primary schools by early 2020. The Children and Families Minister Zadhim Zahawi covered some of the key concerns for period poverty campaigners, outlining the move as a step towards enabling girls to meet their full potential, while also leading happy, healthy lives. The classroom is one of the key places to tackle period poverty and in February the UK government announced that it intends to implement classes on menstrual health by 2020, which is certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to educating young girls about their periods.

Period Poverty in the Classroom

There’s often a lot of pressure placed on parents to teach their daughters about periods but if they don’t know, they can’t share so we should be more proactive in talking about menstruation in the classroom. As we’ve already mentioned, the government is taking the right steps towards bringing periods into the classroom and by educating girls at a young age, the school system can help to tackle period poverty at its very origin. There’s certainly a stigma around menstruation and by leveling the playing field early on, we can inform young girls about what to expect and that it is totally natural. Plan International UK found that some of the most reoccurring reasons cited by girls missing school lessons, due to period related issues, were embarrassment and anxiety about the situation. This demonstrates the need for period education and schools should be striving to tackle this and make classrooms a safe space for all youngsters.

As women, we have a duty to share and support each other through an experience that we all have in common, so let’s tackle period poverty and raise a generation of girls who have ready access to essential sanitary products and are empowered by their bodies, not held back by them.

Thanks to various widespread social media movements, there is already a growing understanding of period poverty amongst teenagers and young girls. PHS Group carried out a survey in which a third of participants said that either they or someone they knew had been affected by period poverty. Teen activist Amika George began the #FreePeriods movement, and the nineteen-year-old is amplifying the message that no young girl should have to miss out on learning because they can’t afford sanitary products. She has joined forces with various other campaigns such as the Pink Protest and the Red Box Project to reiterate the importance of achieving period equality for all girls.

Sources:

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/period-poverty-everything-you-need-to-know/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods/starting-periods/                      

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dont-hide-periods-in-schools-urges-charity-at-head-of-government-taskforce/

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/amika-george-period-poverty-uk/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/08/girls-school-period-poverty-scotland-free-menstrual-products-england-campaign

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/period-poverty-girls-school-absent-phs-group-menstrual-a8922246.html

https://plan-uk.org/media-centre/plan-international-uks-research-on-period-poverty-and-stigma

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-sanitary-products-in-all-primary-schools

http://redboxproject.org/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-47350835

Approximately 82% of Americans supported paid maternity leave for mothers after a birth or adoption, according to a recent Pew research. Yet only 17% of working Americans are able to access paid parental leave today. While there has been some progress in promoting a balance between work and family life for female employees, there remains a lot to be done to support mothers to be in the workplace, particularly women in finance.

Your Earning Potential is Lower Both During Pregnancy and After Returning

Women in the American workforce are more educated than ever but continue to be underrepresented in the finance industry. Although the percentage of women in the financial industries is around 54.5%, there remains a significant gender gap which plays a large part in the decision of women working in finance on whether to take maternity leave. In fact, the motherhood penalty costs women around $16,000 in lost wages annually and 25% of women have to go back to work two weeks after giving birth to keep afloat financially.

Aside from taking maternity leave to prepare for the new arrival, some women leave earlier due to medical complications such as gestational diabetes and find themselves further financially vulnerable. The impact is felt not only medically but also financially due to time off being unpaid or paid at a significantly reduced rate. Considering almost 10% of pregnancies are diagnosed with gestational diabetes annually, the chances of women in finance having to deal with this are quite possible. Therefore, not only do women earn less while taking maternity leave but they are almost guaranteed to earn less than before pregnancy, and their male counterparts, meaning their family’s financial stability can be threatened.

Your Career Progression Trajectory Changes or Slows 

For women looking to progress in finance, the 70-hour work weeks and full diaries can act as a deterrent against being selected for an executive-level job. In fact, the ‘Gender Diversity in the Financial Services Industry’ report by Mercer showed a significant decline in female representation as career levels rises in finance. Only 15% of women were represented at the executive level in finance, while only 26% of senior managers were female.

Thanks to factors such as the finance industry’s slow response to flexible working, women’s chances to achieve a better work-life balance are reduced and they tend to face an increased likelihood to be passed over for job promotions. Women with children also take longer to climb the ladder in the finance workplace as they juggle childcare hours and a demanding industry which means their earning brackets can remain unmoved for a longer time. Early starts and late nights required of many full-time jobs on Wall Street often means women in finance either have to rely on round the clock childcare or make the choice to go part-time.

Increased Pressure and Diminished Chances for Management Opportunities

Although 84% of employed Americans believe that having working mothers in leadership roles will boost the success rate of businesses, only a small% of women who have taken maternity leave will get the chance. Because of the negative association between women taking maternity leave and their commitment to the job, employers are more inclined to place these women in management positions within their company.

Published experiences by women working on Wall Street have shown that women tend to face increased pressure in trying to conceal their pregnancies for as long as possible, along with the constant pressure of when they plan to return (or whether they do plan to at all). For many firms on Wall Street, women are often offered six weeks of disability leave and end up losing not just pay equity but ground on progressing into the management realm.

Despite the well-publicized benefits of maternity leave including lower infant mortality rates and lower postnatal depression rates, support for women taking maternity leave in the finance industry continues to be woefully lacking. The choice to take time off to raise one’s child is repeatedly shown to have a higher cost for women, starting from the initial leave allowance rates and possibly defining the future of their careers. However, it is also important to recognize the progress made by financial firms like Deloitte, KPMG, and Bank of America. The support shown by these companies for mothers in finance can be a great starting point for the revolutionary change needed in the finance industry.

But how do the most skilled sportswomen compare, which are the best-paid sports for women, and how much are they earning each day?

Protectivity has analysed the annual salaries of the richest female sports players in the world and calculated exactly how long it would take them to reach your yearly earnings. With the most successful female sportswoman, Serena Williams earning a whopping £23.7 million each year, this athlete earns an impressive £65,000 every single day.

The top 5 richest sportswomen include:

Rank Sport Name Annual Salary
1st Tennis Serena Williams £23,707,480
2nd Tennis Naomi Osaka £19,729,170
3rd Tennis Angelique Kerber £9,580,420
4th Tennis Simona Halep £8,281,380
5th Tennis Sloane Stephens £7,794,240

Serena Williams crowned the world’s richest sportswoman

Serena Williams, arguably the most famous female sports player of the 21st century, takes the crown as the richest woman in sport with a staggering annual salary of £23.7 million. Known for her world-class abilities as a tennis player, Serena began her career over 20 years ago in 1995. Since then, the American athlete has won an impressive 792 matches at Wimbledon. What makes Williams even more impressive is that she continues to win world titles in her sport, showing off a seriously impressive career, with many athletes reaching their optimum playing skills for just a handful of years.

Serena’s success is reflected in her salary at £23.7 million. Broken down, this figure equates to £2,706 every hour and £45 per minute. The tennis champion is miles above other sportswomen, earning over £3 million more each year than the second highest-earning female sports player, Naomi Osaka, who has a yearly salary of £19 million.

With the average UK salary sitting at £29,009, it would take Serena Williams just 10 hours, 44 minutes and 24 seconds to earn this figure, and for the majority of the richest women in sport, a maximum of two days.

Tennis crowned the best-paid sports profession for women

Amongst the top 10 richest female sports players, all are tennis professionals, which highlights the sport as the best-earning skill to pursue for women. With tennis being one of the most popular sports to play and watch across the globe, it is a great opportunity to encourage women into learning the skill. With the UK seeing over 2 million people playing it on a regular basis, the US holding a staggering 17.9 million participating in the sport, and 2019’s Wimbledon men’s singles final seeing 9.6 million people tune in to watch the match, it is great to see the enthusiasm amongst so many people in keeping fit, healthy and happy playing tennis.

Outside of tennis and in the top 15 richest female sports players, football, badminton and golf appear. Football player Alex Morgan ranks 12th, badminton athlete Pusarla V Sindhu sits at 13th and Ariya Jutanugarn at 15th.

The richest women in sport compared to men

Whilst Serena Williams’ salary is immensely impressive, it is clear that female sports players have a long way to go to reach the earnings of the most successful male athletes. Football star, Lionel Messi is crowned as the richest sports player of all time, earning over £100 million each year, which is over four times the amount of Williams. However it is not just football players that are earning more, but tennis professionals too. Novak Djokovic sits as the highest-paid player in tennis earning $50.6 million.

Sean Walsh, Marketing Manager from Protectivity Insurance comments: “It’s great to see the success of women in sport and shine a light on their achievements, particularly in an industry where male professionals are known for earning significantly higher salaries. The popularity of tennis matches really shows in the top 15 richest women in sport list, with both male and female matches being immensely popular with audiences, and thousands of people each summer tuning in to watch Wimbledon.

“Over the next few years, it would be fantastic to see women in other sports rise into the top 15 list of richest women and break the top ten list of tennis players,”

To answer these questions and to put a perspective around various drivers responsible for encouraging more women to join the fast-growing blockchain industry, we caught up with Marie Tatibouet, CMO at Gate.io. Marie is also a blockchain influencer and a thought leader in the space.

  1. How did you develop an interest in blockchain technology? Can you tell us about your background?

I majored in finance and marketing, and since then I have loved how the two subjects drive change in today’s world. After completing my education, I worked with the consumer technology space. Later, I founded a marketing consultancy that helped tech companies with their marketing strategies. It wasn’t until 2016 that I fell down the wonderful rabbit hole that is blockchain technology and subsequently returned to the finance world. It was 2016, and I joined an online platform called 21, mostly using it for fun and I then started researching how to withdraw the BTC a few months later and found myself hooked to the idea. Two years later, I was offered this exciting role at Gate Technology, where I love how I engage with the larger community to spread the word about Gate.io.

  1. What do you think women in the industry have achieved and what do they want to achieve in the future?

We are seeing an increased number of women emerging as blockchain influencers. Some like Neha Nerula are putting their technical skills to work and others like Angie Lau and Molly Jane Zuckerman are asking the right questions to ensure that we understand both sides of the (crypto) coin. However, industry calls for more women to take up leadership roles, reducing the gender gap and encouraging diversity. Apart from seeing a greater number of women in the industry, I would like us to create a space where women feel appreciated not just for their technical skills but also for their ability to use design thinking in various applications of blockchain technology.

  1. Why is the blockchain technology space so male dominated?

The roots of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, tech and finance are still struggling to become gender balanced. This trend kept women at the back foot when blockchain technology was introduced a decade ago. It is undeniable that every technological application needs diversity to scale and succeed. Women are also more risk-averse than men, which keeps them from entering the industry. However, as the sector becomes more mainstream, we need to take more steps to eliminate these barriers to improve gender diversity. However, we are seeing more women coming into space because their contribution to the finance industry is something the sector cannot ignore.

  1. Why are women key for innovation in blockchain technology space?

Women bring unique experiences and expertise to the table. Research has shown that women have an inherited quality to keep going back to the fundamentals, which is a better approach to learning, and an incredible quality to foster innovation. I firmly believe that blockchain technology’s mass adoption is almost impossible to achieve unless all diverse minds put their thoughts and experiences together. They are also great community builders, something that the crypto industry thrives on. All these qualities can help businesses and communities understand the intricacies of various applications so that solutions can be tailored accordingly.

  1. How is Gate.io contributing in this realm?

Gate Technology is headed in the right direction when it comes to striking the right gender balance in an organization. Forty percent of our workforce are women, holding important positions across horizontals like product development, marketing, communications, and technology. A gender diverse team is key to being inclusivity to business solutions, especially while designing and creating strategies around user experience, marketing, etc.

Business Insider recently  released their picks for the Top 30 Most Influential Women in the UK's tech arena, and thereby showcasing that women are occupying some of the most important and impactful roles in the UK's most innovative companies. 

This represents a huge step forward in the efforts for equality at work - the tech industry in the UK harbours some of the country's most forward-thinking companies which have the potential to transform our lives for the better in countless ways. The fact that the women occupy such a variety of important roles within the industry can only bode well for the future of women at work, and showcases the success that women leading from the front in industry can generate.

However, the wider industry still has some work to do: in their roles as entrepreneurs, technologists, and investors, women continue to face inequality and sexism, whether implicated by conscious or unconscious biases. In 2017, 83% of all UK VC funding was allocated to startups whose founding teams were exclusively male, according to Diversity VC.

Hephzi Pemberton, Founder of Equality Group, commented on the increasing number of women in tech, and what must be done to ensure continued growth: "It is fantastic to see so many women step into these high-profile positions and deliver incredible results. They represent role models to working women everywhere, and it is my hope that they will encourage other institutions and industries to consider the value of their female staff and their contribution to the sector. 

"Study after study has shown that diverse teams improve financial results with the higher the percentage of women in management positions, the greater the returns. This is because more diverse companies can attract, develop and retain a broader talent pool and because of this, are able to serve niche markets with a better understanding of their customers. It also allows companies to tailor their approach to every facet of society, improves their image, staff satisfaction and net income. Ultimately, diverse businesses do better and all companies should strive for diversity, not simply to meet implemented targets, but to reap the rewards that increased diversity will enable."

As a woman who works in finance, the gender pay gap within the industry is an issue I’m extremely passionate about. Not just because it affects me, but because it affects so many people across the globe.

My passion for the subject has led me to give many speeches, publicly and privately. However, it’s important to highlight that I’m not a spokesperson for women in finance. No one is. Little annoys me more than people turning to me, or any other individual, when they need ‘a woman's view’. No individual speaks for all women - and that’s sort of the point.

Women aren’t a collective group of one type of human. 50% of the population are not categorically better at planning, organising, intuition, empathy, listening and creativity than the other 50%. There’s a scale, and everyone is different.

Diversity is a very personal subject, and it’s wider than gender, but that’s not for now. It’s built by each individual based on their beliefs, culture and upbringing. But a change in mindset on the subject of diversity can’t be done individually, it has to be a cultural shift. We all have to get on board.

So why should you get on board?

First, to run the best company, you’re going to need a mix of everyone. Diversity in all areas of a hierarchy is good for business. The Journal of Economics and Management strategy found that shifting from an all-male or all-female workforce to one that is evenly split can increase revenue by 40%.

Companies shouldn’t pay their staff what they can get away with, they should pay their staff what they deserve within the realms of what the company can afford.

Further, according to McKinsey, women make up to 80% of consumers. That means, making decisions without women in your workforce means you're making decisions about up to 80% of consumers without consulting with any of the 80%. Basically, diversity within the workplace is important. It’s important to have a mix of decision-makers at your company.

In order to achieve a diverse workplace, you must pay people at the same level the same amount. In fact, writing that, I cannot believe we’re still having this debate.

The fact that there is a gender pay gap could indicate that a woman’s contribution is not equal to that of a man’s contribution. Something decided by someone else about a collective group of people. That in itself can’t be right.

Companies shouldn’t pay their staff what they can get away with, they should pay their staff what they deserve within the realms of what the company can afford. And that spans further than gender, of course, but we can’t cover everything in one go. Two people at the same level making the same contribution to the company, one male, one female, how much should you pay them? The same amount.

Despite the active effort from the UK Government in helping women secure senior positions and secure equal pay, the male to female balance remains low. Two years ago the government introduced a law that makes it mandatory for businesses to disclose the discrepancies in salary each gender receives. You’ll recall the BBC were heavily involved in this. But they were not alone.

Female-led finance businesses give around 110% return on investment compared to 48% for male-led companies.

 A recent report by The Centre of Economics and Business Research revealed that female workers in finance earn 26.3% less than male workers, an increase on last year's 25.7%.

This statistic contradicts the claim that women now fill 32% of boardroom positions. In the finance industry, women who work in the same positions as their male colleagues are often paid less without knowing and are given fewer opportunities to progress in their career to senior leadership roles.

There are many ‘reasons’ people state for this happening. Things I’ve heard: women see a job role and don’t apply if they can only do 80% of the job description, whereas men will apply when they can only do 60%. Women don’t ask for more pay because it’s not in their nature. Men don’t hire women because they only hire people like them. Women want a job with flexible hours because they are responsible for the home. Women would be at the top of the company, but they took a year out of their 45-year career to have and look after a new life. The list of misconceptions goes on.

Whatever the reason, it’s ludicrous to blanket women in this way. Personally, I know many ambitious, driven, kind and ‘over-confident’ women who have taken a risk and dropped out of a safe 9 - 5 to passionately make a difference for the world. And not because they fit the job description or sacrificed their family responsibilities, but because they can.

Women see a job role and don’t apply if they can only do 80% of the job description, whereas men will apply when they can only do 60%.

So how do we address the gap?

In order to reduce the pay gap in finance, positive actions need to be taken. Businesses need to make positive actions at the top to change mindsets of both men and women and take charge in creating an environment where diversity can be championed.

Companies need to build a culture where their female talent know they have opportunities to make it to the top and more importantly get paid the same when they are up there. And why not? Female-led finance businesses give around 110% return on investment compared to 48% for male-led companies.

We recognise the problems so let’s address them earlier. It should be more common for talks in schools and universities to be given that inspire women to take a career in finance.

If one doesn’t exist within your company, create a women’s network and support each other when instances of gender pay gaps are uncovered. Don’t know if there is a pay gap? Collectively hold your management to account and press for wage data to be released.

Review parental leave - are both parents entitled to leave - can it be shared? Let’s change the story when it comes to the responsibility to raise a child. Let’s use our networks to support women coming back into work from a period of leave.

And, finally, don’t pull the ladder up behind you, help other women get to where you are. Does your company have a mentoring scheme? Let’s share experiences and offer solutions to ensure a representative pipeline.

Women should be given the same opportunities as men and should be able to make their choices from that starting point. And they should be paid the same to do it.

As a woman with a career in the finance industry spanning over two decades, what would you say are the key challenges that you’ve been faced with?

A lot of people talk about the fact that the financial services industry is very male-dominated, but in my case, this hasn't been the main challenge that I've been faced with. I have found that as long as you’re good at your job, you're approachable and you work well in a team, then you can work well with both men and women.

The main thing that I've found challenging, however, has been the ability to put myself forward. Women, in general, tend to strive to achieve perfection a little bit more than men do, which results in insecurities and fear that we don’t know enough yet because we don’t feel like we’ve fully perfected our current role. In reality, having the right drive, determination to succeed and the confidence to put yourself forward is what matters more. When we, as women, look at a job description, we tend to focus on the things that we're not too sure whether we can do, rather than the things that we feel qualified enough for and are confident in. One of the main hurdles for me has been the fact that I've been too scared to say "Yes, I can do that" when there's been a specific question about a part of the role which I thought a man would be more suited for.

All in all, I think the challenges that I have faced in my career have been self-inflicted challenges and not challenges that have arisen from working in a male-dominated service industry.

Have there been any particular challenges connected to promotions and climbing up the corporate ladder?

I believe that technically, as long as you make it clear that you want a promotion and you work hard for one, then your gender shouldn't matter. However, from my experience, I’ve noticed that we, as women, don’t plan well in advance what role we want to take on next. Men, in contrast, tend to have a very specific vision for the progression of their careers. This unclarity or indecisiveness is something that can hold us back sometimes.

We should plan in advance what we want our next step in this organisation to be and we should also make it obvious to everyone in the company that this is the role we're striving for. Once this is achieved and we're clear about our goals, we can be very successful no matter what.

One of the main hurdles for me has been the fact that I've been too scared to say "Yes, I can do that" when there's been a specific question about a part of the role which I thought a man would be more suited for.

From your experience, what triggers gender discrimination and inequality in the finance industry?

When I started working within the financial services industry, which was a very long time ago now, most of the people at the top were male and I think this has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Now that we have many more female role models, there's much less gender discrimination and inequality in the industry.

Western Union is a very good example of that, as the organisation has a focus on ensuring that there are women at the top – our Executive team comprises of 40% women and we have three female board members. Moreover, 50% of Western Union’s employees on a global scale are women and we also have an all-female senior advisory group called Women@WU which has a big focus on driving an action plan to promote women's success throughout the company.

Nowadays, promoting gender balance in the workplace is something that many organisations are working towards – both through evaluating the current state of the workplace and through discussing ways to keep their organisation competitive. It has been proven that companies whose leadership team is gender-balanced have a higher return on equity when compared to organisations whose senior management team consists of men only. I think that having that balance is not just good from a commercial point of view, but also because it contributes to a much more interesting workplace where different views, experiences and ideas could be exchanged on a day-to-day basis.

Can you tell us a bit about Western Union’s Women@WU initiative you’ve just mentioned?

Western Union as an organisation sees diversity as a massive asset and does a lot to ensure that the company is gender-balanced. The Women@WU initiative started out in 2015 and since then there's been a lot of benchmarking work going on against other FTSE100 and Fortune 500 companies looking at gender balance and understanding the opportunities that come with it.

And while I think that WU is fairly balanced from a gender perspective, there's always more the organisation can do to support women throughout their careers. One of the things that I've been focused on since my arrival in June 2018 has been chairing a Women@WU group that consists of a number of women getting together once a month to discuss subjects like the unwritten rules in the industry in regards to the way you look, how you network or how you perform altogether. Being a part of the group is helpful to other women in the organisation because it creates a friendly peer network that women can use on an ongoing basis, where they can hear a senior woman such as myself lead the discussion and share the experiences I’ve had throughout my career.

It has been proven that companies whose leadership team is gender-balanced have a higher return on equity when compared to organisations whose senior management team consists of men only.

I was part of a similar group years ago and I found that the peer network that came out of it was extremely helpful. There's something so encouraging about being able to share some of the issues that you're struggling with with a group of people that you trust who are there to support you, come up with a solution or help you overcome the specific problem. Making friends that you can trust can sometimes be quite hard, especially when you're a very busy individual, but being part of such a group and being given the time to create these relationships is a very positive thing and I'm happy that Western Union's environment allows for such initiatives.

What can other organisations take from Western Union’s company culture and gender diversity initiatives?

I think first and foremost, what other organisations can take from us is the very fact that we have this initiative and that we take it very seriously - at Western Union, we aim to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions in the company by 10% by 2020. Calling that out and talking about diversity in the workplace openly is something that other companies could and should take from us.

Western Union has made a massive effort in the field and has had success in bringing senior women into the organisation who have really helped to drive the aforementioned initiatives. The fact that our board includes three women currently is a very positive thing and it was certainly something that I paid attention to before joining the organisation. It is a representation of women in leadership roles and the fact that we can actually quote it and benchmark ourselves against other organisations means that caring about the women who work for you and with you is a thing that other companies need to be doing too.

In what ways is digital transformation in finance impacting the industry’s diversity?

The industry is changing much faster than ever before - everything is now online and it's much easier to be nimble. I think this is opening up opportunities for women to take on different kind of roles, to have different learnings and to really put ourselves forward in a slightly different way. I attended the Women of the Square Mile conference in London in May and the one thing that came out really well from the discussions we had was that women are very good at being flexible. We tend to naturally be good at juggling multiple tasks, picking things up and running with them and as a result of that, there are a lot of new roles that can be very applicable to women and the kind of skills that we offer.

Obviously, there are a lot of women out there who have very relevant experience in the non-digital world but these abilities and skills related to flexibility and multitasking can help them become a translator between the old ways and the online ways of doing business, as well as the ways of bringing these two together.

For me, generally, digital brings a whole new world of exciting opportunities - both for men and women.

At Western Union, we aim to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions in the company by 10% by 2020.

What does the finance industry as a whole need to do to reduce gender discrimination in the workplace?

Tremendous effort has been made to move forward in recent years, and I think the main thing that the industry needs to work on is helping women to put themselves forward and find sponsors within the organisation who can help them prepare for their next roles. I think it is our duty, as senior women, to show junior women that we're giving them the opportunity to apply for roles and to show our organisations exactly what they're capable of. Sponsorship within an organisation is very important and I believe that it will help reduce gender discrimination in the sector as it will help women overcome the reluctance of putting themselves forward.

What is your piece of advice for women aiming for the top?

Be clear about what your career plan is, know what success looks like for you and make sure that you're articulating it correctly. Women should also build their own brand and be visible - with LinkedIn being one good example of the perfect platform where you can exhibit yourself and your achievements.

Another thing is to find yourself a sponsor – make sure they support you and if they end up moving to a different position, make sure they introduce you to someone else from their network who can guide you in the future. For me personally, having a sponsor made a massive difference to my career. During my time at American Express, there was a specific role that I really wanted to get - I was very clear that that's what I wanted and I worked with my sponsor towards this goal so that he can put my name forward for it and in the end, I got the promotion. If I hadn't been clear and if I hadn't had that sponsor, I'm not sure if I would have managed to succeed.

Last but not least, I think it's important to build your network. A lot of men tend to go for drinks after work, which is not necessarily the case for women. I think it's important to find your way of networking - be it at events and conferences or peer-mentoring groups. If other people are networking and you're not, then that's going to have an impact on your application for any future role.

 

About Karen Penney:

Karen has spent over 25 years in blue chip customer-facing service businesses, working in the UK and internationally. She is currently the Vice President of Payment Products for Western Union Business Solutions in the UK, where she leads a team focused on international payments, supporting companies across various industries including NGO, Education, Pensions and Payroll. Since taking up this position in the middle of 2018 Karen has established herself as a respected leader with a commercial and customer-centric approach and a desire to develop her people.

Karen was General Manager for the American Express UK Corporate business from 2012 to 2018 and was responsible for driving significant growth from a mature business through a focus on small businesses, international payments and working capital optimisation. Leading a team of 300, her key responsibilities covered all customer-facing activity including direct sales, engaging existing customers and developing new value propositions & revenue streams, alongside managing the P&L. She also sat on the European Risk committee and was a director of the American Express insurance subsidiary.

Karen previously held a number of increasingly senior roles within American Express including successfully growing and retaining the relationships with the top 150 clients globally; creating new integrated teams to drive an improved customer experience while ensuring full regulatory compliance; transforming mid-market account management from a servicing and retention culture to a successful sales culture; launching an offshore management information team to drive increased customer engagement and loyalty in a cost-effective way; and converting customers to a digital servicing experience.

Prior to joining American Express, Karen spent five years with AIR MILES, a subsidiary of British Airways in a variety of commercial roles, following a five-year stint with Citibank Diners Club in sales and account management positions in the UK. Karen began her career on the NatWest graduate training programme and honed her analytical skills at Bankers Trust.

Karen is very interested in the subject of mental health and well being at work and is a keen advocate for women in the workplace.

The analysis also found that, out of the 10 most common names on the executive boards, the first female name, Sarah, only comes in 10th and none of the boards have more women than men.

An online employee referral recruitment platform has analysed data from the top 25 accountancy firms in the UK and discovered that women make up just a quarter of the executive boards, however statistics show that women made up 44% of full-time accountants in the UK in 2014.

The research was conducted by Real Links, a platform that allows UK business owners and HR teams to access a potential talent pool of hundreds of thousands of employee referral candidates and creates anonymised profiles, ensuring there’s no unconscious bias when choosing candidates.

Real Links also discovered that only two of the top 25 firms boards are nearly equal in the gender split and a further six boards were only one third women. Four executive boards had no women on them at all.

When studying the data further, Real Links found that, out of the 10 most common names on the executive boards, Mark, David and Andrew are the three most common and the first female name, Sarah, only comes in at the 10th spot. Furthermore, out of the top 20 most common names, only two female names appeared.

Sam Davies, CEO and Co-Founder of Real Links, said: “While statistics show that the accounting industry has a relatively even split between men and women, it seems women are still struggling to climb to the top of their firms.

“The statistics we discovered were shocking and show that inequality is still prevalent in the industry. Despite targets and policies designed to encourage more women into senior roles, progress has been slow. The recent gender gap reporting has shown that parity is still a long way off, so at Real Links, we think that employers need to consider anonymising recruitment to ensure candidates are chosen on experience rather than being subject to any unconscious bias.

“The top 25 accountancy firms need to ensure they’re leading by example to try and close the gender split at the most senior levels in their industry.”

(Source: Real Links)

A lack of access to finance is one of the major barriers facing women entrepreneurs in low-income communities. 80% of women owned businesses with credit needs are either unserved or underserved – a $1.7 trillion financing gap. By working with women on how to collectively save money, develop their business skills and facilitating access to affordable loans, CARE has seen an astounding uplift in success rates.

In Ethiopia, CARE has recently supported 5,000 women entrepreneurs in this way, resulting in an increase in their income of 500%. The programme supported women entrepreneurs from the slums of Addis Ababa to set up or expand their own businesses.  Approximately 70% did not have any savings in the beginning of the project - this number was reduced to 3.6% when the project concluded three years later.

All data points in the same direction: investing in women’s economic empowerment is critical to unlock their economic and social potential.  Women are shown to be stronger savers, more prudent borrowers and calculated risk-takers. Giving women better access to financial products and services could unlock $330 billion in annual global revenue.

CARE is therefore calling on the global financial sector to improve products and services for women.  This will not only have a positive impact on individual women, but also their communities and, ultimately, national economies.

Through CARE’s ‘Access Approved’ campaign, women from Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast, Jordan and Peru share their stories on film for the first time, telling the banks what they think is needed to open up access to finance for women.  These new films aim to bring the real issues to the fore, providing clear and personal recommendations to the financial sector including:

  1. Develop products and services that are specific to women’s needs (Martha from Peru)
  2. Offer alternative solutions to collateral requirements, such as loans based on savings group activities, and introduce loans with more flexible repayment terms (Jeanne from Ivory Coast)
  3. Train and employ more women within the financial industry  (Sarojini from Sri Lanka and Bara’a from Jordan)

Women face all kinds of hidden barriers to accessing finance - just because they are women. Take Yeo Nakoni, a female vegetable farmer from the Ivory Coast: “I’ve worked this land now for 35 years, but the land doesn’t belong to me. In our community women don’t own land, it belongs to men.” This systemic inequality is then compounded when women try to access finances to grow their businesses: “When we go to the bank to ask for a loan, we’re denied because we have no collateral.

Yeo is part of CARE’s Women in Enterprise Programme, supported by H&M Foundation, which has reached 133,000 women entrepreneurs globally since 2014. Yeo is a member of a savings group, based on CARE’s flagship Village Savings and Loans Association model. In her words: “This approach allowed us to strengthen our group spirit, savings and especially the repayment of loans taken out from the group. Every Sunday we each put in 500 francs (0.86 USD) and from that we are able to give each other loans. We repay our loans with interest, so our fund can grow. Within the group we can help each other. What we can do as a group, you can’t do by yourself.” 

However, sometimes group members require larger loans and other financial products to meet their business needs. This is why CARE also supports savings groups to link safely to formal financial service providers. Thanks to CARE’s partnership with a local microfinance provider, Yeo was able to take out a low-interest loan of around 2,500 USD to expand her enterprise. She is now confidently repaying her loan and she is extremely proud of what she has achieved.

Laurie Lee, Chief Executive, CARE International UK comments: “Investing in women entrepreneurs is not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. Women represent an enormous untapped market for financial institutions and we want to work with them to open up new opportunities.  This makes business sense for both financial institutions and the women we support.” 

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