INTRODUCTION

“You need to choose between fintech or women, but you can’t do both.”

Those words from my editor struck me like a blow to the stomach. Why should I have to choose? Shouldn’t there be ample space for women’s narratives in our publication? Why are women’s perspectives deemed separate from the fintech beat, while men’s are not?

In my journalism career, I have devoted a decade to reporting on auto finance, mortgages, wealth management, and fintech. I have contributed to prominent business-to-business industry publications, reaching financial services professionals and influencing decision-makers in the economic system from behind the newsroom. My work has consistently aimed to inform and shape the perspectives of those leading the financial industry.

As I rose in my career from reporter to editor, I noticed a troubling trend in every newsroom: they are predominantly male led. Globally, only 22% of 180 top editors across 240 news outlets are women, despite women making up 40% of journalists in the 12 markets studied across five continents, according to research by the 2023 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.1 Women are significantly underrepresented in editorial leadership roles and news coverage, leaving their voices muted in a global news industry still dominated by men.

This imbalance leads to skewed news coverage favoring male perspectives, neglecting the viewpoints of half the global population. Women make up only 25% of the individuals heard, read about, or seen in newspapers, television, and radio news, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project, which has tracked gender representation in the world’s news media every five years since 1995. From 2000 to 2020, women’s representation in business-related occupations in the news – like businesspeople, executives, managers, and stockbrokers – barely increased from 12% to 20%. In contrast, women’s stories are most represented in occupations like sex workers at 95% and homemakers at 68%.2

Due to this bias, stories centering on women’s perspectives are often labeled as activism or ideology and relegated to the “diversity” or “women’s” sections of online and print publications. Consequently, our daily news media predominantly reflects the male perspective, implying that women’s viewpoints are less relevant or suitable for the public’s regular consumption. This pervasive bias silences women’s experiences and insights, perpetuating a narrow and incomplete narrative in the media landscape that ignores the indispensable role women play in shaping our society.

In business media, these biases look like the false narratives fed to women about money that disregard their experiences and viewpoints. You’ve heard them before: articles that claim the pay gap is a woman’s decision, or that women don’t like to invest, or women are frivolous spenders. I can tell you that none of those ridiculous storylines are true. But media shapes the narrative, business controls the money, and when business media does not adequately cover women as the brilliant founders, innovators, investors, and leaders that they are, it perpetuates inaccuracies about women, money, and their roles as business leaders.

To change the story, we have to change the storytellers. We must learn how to be innovative entrepreneurs, investors, and CEOs by listening to and learning from the women building in fintech. Throughout this book, the stories of female leaders will rewrite the narrative with the truth: women have always played an integral role in shaping our finance and technology innovations, maybe you just haven’t read about them yet. The media has the power to shape beliefs and drive change. By accurately highlighting women’s contributions in business and finance, we can shift the narrative and ensure that women’s voices are heard, and their businesses are valued.

As a journalist, my job is to observe and critique the industries I cover. It is also my job to amplify voices that need to be heard, spread awareness, and describe perspectives that are otherwise overlooked. The lack of women’s stories in sectors so crucial to our society, economy, and culture can’t continue. To combat this, I have decided to concentrate my reporting on women-led companies while examining fintech’s future through a feminist perspective.

Women do not simply operate feminist fintech companies, and “fintech feminism” goes beyond just a “feminine” approach to fintech. Instead, “fintech feminism” critically analyzes the industry as a whole, scrutinizing how systemic flaws stem from an inequitable representation of women and the global majority. This perspective challenges the status quo and advocates for action to lead to a more inclusive fintech landscape that genuinely reflects diverse voices and experiences. Feminism isn’t exclusive to any gender or ethnicity; it advocates for social, political, and economic equality between everyone – women and men. Historically, men’s perspectives have been the default, shaping our financial system in one direction. Amplifying women’s stories, promoting women into leadership roles, and funding their businesses is crucial to creating a financial system that serves our economy in many directions. This, in turn, will help to prevent the crises and wealth disparities at the root of many current societal issues including healthcare and climate change.

Given the biased media landscape, it’s no surprise that women are underrepresented in fintech. We’ve been bombarded with stories that perpetuate outdated narratives creating cycles of systemic oppression: men lead in business, and women lead in homemaking. The reality is much more of a “yes, and” situation – it’s not mutually exclusive to be a businessperson and homemaker; in fact, most women are handling both. But when we tell stories from one perspective that present women as only one role and do not showcase their leading roles in different spaces, these stories create vicious cycles of homogeneity. The founders who receive funding secure media attention, hire their friends, and ultimately shape the structure of our economy and society. In turn, media plays a critical role in the lack of funding, equitable pay, and promotion of women in fintech as operational leaders.

As a result, the dominance of a single voice in the leadership of financial services and technology institutions has created significant gaps in innovation, increased fraud, revenue losses, and recurring economic crises. Products designed predominantly by men tend to be skewed toward male users, highlighting a critical issue: the need for a more inclusive approach to financial services. The hopeful question arises: How will financial services become more functional, equitable, and impactful for everyone when women and people of color drive the innovation?

By the end of this book, we will answer that question by showcasing that when women lead, they create financial products that cater to the unique needs of women, people of color, students, caregivers, mothers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and underserved communities. These products address gaps in traditional financial services, promote financial inclusion, and arm a broader spectrum of society with economic independence, ultimately fostering a more resilient economy for everyone.

When people ask why I chose to dedicate my journalism career to covering fintech, my answer is simple: it’s because of the incredible women building it. Over the past decade, I’ve been inspired by female leaders who are scrappier, more flexible, innovative, and resilient than their male counterparts. Despite receiving less funding and media attention, these trailblazers are creating fintech companies that are innovative, valuable, and unlock the economy for the most underserved. They target long-overlooked demographics – small business owners, the care economy, and low-income female entrepreneurs in international markets – unlocking revenue streams and delivering social good. As I researched women in fintech for this book, a recurring pattern emerges among them: they often view their achievements or advantages as a duty to contribute to their communities. Their ethos mirrors the adage of “build longer tables, not higher walls.” No matter in the face of success or failure, they remain steadfast to sustainability and progress. Female leaders in fintech are not only reaching more communities; their actions create a ripple effect in a world where everything is connected. Women in fintech are driving significant economic activity for our global GDP, addressing climate change, solving high healthcare costs, opening access to wealth building, establishing sustainable businesses, and reshaping the financial services industry with innovative approaches. What could be more powerful than that?

This is why, after all these years, I believe fintech could be more inclusive of the global majority – and yield different results – than traditional finance or technology ever could. What truly inspires me about the fintech industry is the rise of female leaders who aren’t deterred by past financial crises. Instead, they are driven by a solid resolve to learn from the past and fix what’s broken in order to build a better future for the world.

Throughout my years of reporting, interviewing, and traveling, I’ve discovered that the most impactful leaders are driven by their...