How unconscious bias is keeping the gender gap in FinTech.

It is not breaking news that FinTech is still scoring low in terms of gender diversity and inclusion. Unfortunately, this has a lot do with the fact that both finance, technology and entrepreneurship are sectors traditionally dominated by men - which makes the FinTech industry appear inaccessible for many. There certainly are many reasons lying behind this male-dominated issue but there is one reason in particular that has lately raised attention among news and organizations - and that’s what is called unconscious bias.

But what exactly is unconscious bias? Well, bias means prejudice or partiality which is inclined towards a certain group or person. Therefore, unconscious bias implies that there is a sort of one-sidedness which is taken by someone without that someone even realizing it. Gender bias - or unconscious gender bias - originate from gender stereotypes that we have learned along the way and that makes us believe that there are typical characteristics of what it is to be a man and a woman. For example, we might think that men can be better leaders and managers while women are better caretakers - these thoughts are triggered by gender stereotypes and they happen so quickly that we are usually not aware of.

This matter plays a big role at work when leaders or managers are for example taking decisions regarding who to hire or what to pay each of their employees. I like to think that those who are in decision-making positions do not go to work consciously thinking that they should favor men more than women - however, they might unconsciously do that. To understand better unconscious bias behavior regarding gender differences in payment - the Proceedings of the national academy of science of the United States of America conducted a study where participants needed to review some resumes. The participants were divided into two groups - half of them had a resume with a woman’s name on it and the other half a resume with a man’s name on it - besides this difference, everything else was the same. Participants were then asked to determine how much the person owning each resume should be paid and - as a surprise to some - the participants suggested higher salaries for the male applicant - even though the resumes were identical.

Many people, including executives, are recognizing more and more that having a diverse working environment and groups at all levels can lead to better financial returns to the company. According to a McKinsey’s study called "Delivering Through Diversity” it was verified that in the 1000 companies researched by the study - the ones with gender-diverse leadership teams outperformed their peers by 21% and in addition to that, diverse leadership teams were 33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability. It is quite obvious that diversity of thoughts can increase innovation and lead to new perspectives to persisting problems. Thus, overcoming unconscious bias and leading diversity and inclusion in the FinTech sector -as well as in any other sector - it’s not only fundamental but is’s also the best decision for the business.

Talking about the problem and creating awareness about it is the first step - and a very important one - for change, however we need to start focusing on the solutions and how to overcome this. So, how can we support women who want to or are already working in a sector founded and run by men? And moreover, how do we approach unconscious bias? There are definitely many ways to do this, but as I can’t go on with all of them I decided then to list some of the approaches that might help to overcome this issue. 

• Self-reflection and openness are surely the first thing to do;
  It all starts by being aware! Unconscious bias that can be overcome with a bit of self-education and reflection.

• Adopt a pro-active approach;
  We have seen many initiatives being started around the world - such as WIFTN - whose goals are to in provide opportunities for women to share their experiences and break the image of finance, technology and entrepreneurship as being male dominated sectors. Thus, partnering such initiatives, supporting them, being involved or even just following their work can make a long way.

• Achieving diversity and inclusion does not happen overnight;

  work on recruitment and hiring processes and definitely in promoting diverse candidates; start by perhaps writing job ads in a gender- neutral way and attracting a more diverse group of people.

• Resist the stereotypes;

  Lastly, resist the stereotypes. Your biases exist because you were thought to believe that there are typical characteristics of what it is to be a man and a woman, so it’s logical enough to believe that you can learn how to break these stereotypes.

By following these steps we will be heading towards a less biased working environment, but to make an impact we must work collectively to achieve this goal. Besides that, the change must come from within - because at the end of the day who is better to find solutions to these issues than the ones working in the industry itself? The good news is that we are seeing many progresses and the rise of different initiatives focusing on overcoming bias and leading the way to a more diverse and inclusive sector. We are in the right path, but there is still a long way to go.