The fintech revolution runs fast and also crosses the themes of diversity and inclusion, with surprising and always constructive results for the countries that get involved. This is what emerges from the Fintech Diversity Radar 2021 research, produced by Findexable and presented at the Palazzo delle Stelline in Milan during AssoFintech's Fintech Future2021.
Recently, Italy set up a regulatory sandbox, i.e., in Bankitalia's definition, "a controlled environment where supervised intermediaries and operators in the FinTech sector can test, for a limited period of time, technologically innovative products and services in the banking, financial and insurance sectors".
The launch of a digital experimentation of this type will favor a rapid evolution of the Italian market, while guaranteeing consumer protection. The goal is to grow while maintaining a dialogue between individuals and institutions, with one development of financial services that are as inclusive as possible. “Today, Italy is making giant strides in Fintech – said Maurizio Bernardo, president of AssoFintech, opening the conference – we are witnessing a proliferation of start-ups, but we have two needs: the legislator's action must become more flexible and faster; moreover, we want to support a greater presence of female figures who emerge decisively at the helm of innovative projects, as has been happening in the last period. Assofintech wants to contribute to an inclusive development that catches up with the gender differentials of traditional finance".
In the wake of this commitment, an international workshop was dedicated to the female perspective in Fintech for the first time in Italy. The debate, moderated by Veronica Soriano and animated by Italian Fintech experts, was attended by representatives of the Fintech Hubs of Israel, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Luxembourg, together with representatives of the Chambers of Commerce of the United States and Great Britain. An international confrontation that is more necessary than ever to grow and contribute to the development of our country.
Based on the Findexable survey, carried out on a thousand Fintech companies in the world, only 1,5% of companies are founded exclusively by women. In addition, men are more numerous on boards of directors (the ratio is five to one) and women are often employed in areas such as human resources and marketing. Less than 6% of CEOs are women and less than 4% hold senior positions such as CIO or CTO. However, what is surprising and encouraging about this report is that companies outside Europe and North America are making strides towards inclusion. There are 2,5 times more female CEOs in the Middle East that in Europe and twice as many COO women in Africa compared to the global average.
According to the McKinsey report on diversity and inclusion (Dei), since 2015 companies that stand out for active gender diversity policies have 25% more likely to achieve financial returns above the median national and sectoral. Not only that: the latest Gender 3.000 report from Credit Suisse shows a correlation between gender diversity and stock price outperformance: a “diversity bonus” equal, on average, to 200 basis points. Diversity and inclusion, therefore, are not only essential aspects of corporate welfare, but also strategies that produce excellent financial and business results.
Connected to this is another central theme for the Fintech industry, that offinancial inclusion. To date, 1,7 billion adults worldwide still live outside formal financial arrangements. And gender inequalities are wide: 72% of men have a personal account, against 65% of women. The pandemic has prompted many fintech innovators to broaden the way they access finance, but low-income women remain more disadvantaged than ever. And yet, women are the key to economic recovery: if the gender gap in the economy were eliminated - argue the UN and the IMF - global GDP could increase by 28 trillion dollars by 2030.
It's time to make a clear commitment: we need a transparent and shared platform to determine how the success of companies committed to narrowing the gender gap will be measured. The industry needs all of its participants to step up and demonstrate how to improve women's participation and visibility through hiring, education and retention efforts. Investors, incubators and accelerators now know that a diverse workforce leads to better business results and this will trigger a virtuous circle in terms of funding, allowing women to emerge as leaders, entrepreneurs, startuppers, employees and customers.
Hiring women also helps companies to better understand their customers: Many of the respondents named in the Fintech Diversity Radar report said their companies deliberately create gender-diverse teams to ensure the design of their products and services reflects a diverse gender perspective. This practice comes from years of experience and is also supported by solid research. More diversity means more innovation and a more resilient company.
