By Uma Rajah, CEO and Co-Founder, CapitalRise

Women are massively underrepresented in the fintech industry, with less than 30 per cent of the UK’s fintech workforce being female (Deloitte). Education has a key role to play in encouraging more girls to take up STEM subjects at school and in further education and go on to pursue careers in the sector.

The data unfortunately gets even worse when we look at the founders of fintech companies. The founders of companies selected in Forbes fintech 50 list are made up of 118 men and only six women – with women making up just over 5 per cent, this is a big concern. What’s more, of the UK FTSE 100 companies, only eight companies have a woman as CEO.

I’ve outlined a series of steps that can be taken by educational authorities and the industry to increase the number of girls and women applying for STEM subjects and going on to launch their own fintech business.

Fixing the problem at the source

There is no more effective way to increase the number of females taking STEM subjects than to target them during their school and university years. Persistent images of males in the STEM subjects that are shown to students in their earliest years, creates a preconception that these subjects are gatekept by males. Greater representation of females’ needs to be addressed to show young students that they too can pursue STEM subjects during school and university and go on to pursue a career in fintech.

Increasing access to fintech work experience opportunities

Increasing access to opportunities in fintech through work experience, especially for young women, is crucial to ensuring the success of the UK economy. Every year there is an increase in the number of young women applying to undertake advanced and higher-level STEM apprenticeships (WISE Campaign), which is evident that there is a general demand for STEM careers. The government needs to address this by greatly increasing the number of apprenticeships available to everyone, and businesses could do a great deal more to provide work experience and exposure to careers in STEM and fintech.

Champion female role models

More needs to be done by schools,the government and the media to champion those women that are excelling in the fintech industry. Female fintech professionals should be invited into schools to talk to female students and show them, first-hand, why a career in fintech is so rewarding for women and why it is accessible for them. In the UK we make subject choices that can shape our career choices at a very young age so reducing gender biases that can affect these choices will really help.

Mentoring

Research has shown that female mentors early in academia increase positive academic experiences and retention in STEM subjects in further education and in employment (PNAS). Female mentors will have faced obstacles that males may not have done It can be invaluable to be mentored by a person who has walked in the shoes you are likely to walk in, and by increasing the number of female mentors, STEM subjects can feel more welcoming and accessible to all through internships.

I have worked in manufacturing, technology, and in property and finance today as CEO and co-founder of CapitalRise. Throughout my life, I have regularly been the only woman in the room, starting from my days at Cambridge University where I found myself to be the only female fresher in my college studying Engineering . This continued into my career, where I would manage all male teams, from the factory floor to the board room. While I value my experiences in each role and I have always found being different an advantage rather than a disadvantage it can be daunting at times, I would have greatly appreciated to receive support from a female mentor, particularly early on in my career.

Final thoughts

The challenge of achieving gender balance extends farther than the world of STEM. Whilst my experience has always been as a female in male dominated fields there are equally many fields that are far too heavily female dominated which can make them less appealing as careers for men. As parents, employers, and role models, it is our responsibility to show young people that any career is possible, regardless of gender, and equip them with the resources they need to pursue their passions and talents.