Why Aren't There More Female Fintech Leaders Onstage? It's Complicated
In the end, it is a matter of fairness and mutual respect. If someone thinks that their priorities and aspirations are more important than yours, career or otherwise, it is a red flag. This is a matter of principle that shouldn’t be compromised. I’d much rather compromise on other things.
Raising a Family
It only gets worse after women get married and have children. When it is too much to juggle two full-time jobs with child care, guess who ends up being the lucky one making the sacrifice?
Sometimes people talk about gender equality as if there were no difference between women and men. But there are real differences. Women bear the burden of pregnancy and being the primary caregiver for infants, which often continues indefinitely.
Some of my young friends hesitate to have children because of this, and I always encourage them to go ahead if they want children. Sacrificing motherhood for a job is not worth it — unless, of course, they don’t want children.
Many of us cherish motherhood, but it is nonetheless a lot of work. Each of us may be doing it for ourselves and our own family, but collectively, we are doing it for humankind, and we need to be respected for that.
To the men out there, ask yourself if you have done your fair share of household duties. Chances are that you have not. Even if your spouse doesn’t have a job outside the home, they undoubtedly have talents and aspirations beyond household chores.
Funding and Other Gaps
Also, we have the problem that women need to be better to get the same recognition as men. As a female entrepreneur, I am keenly aware of the funding gap between male and female founders, resulting in a unique phenomenon that my firm, Andes Wealth Technologies, perhaps the most award-winning wealthtech startup, has difficulty raising funds.
There is a fundamental difference between award judging and fundraising: Award judges focus on objective criteria, while the founder is front and center in fundraising, giving the opportunity for biases to come into play.
As individuals, we can’t focus too much on things beyond our control, and it could very well be a blessing in disguise. After all, you can’t really complain too much if you are born with good health, loving parents and above-average intelligence.
But collectively, we should advocate for our equal rights loud and clear. We want real, honest equal opportunity, not special treatment, and certainly not a lower standard. In fact, it is not uncommon to see women at the same level being better qualified than their male counterparts, because we have to be more capable to overcome extra hurdles.
While we do not want these extra barriers, we also don’t want to be patronized or used as window dressing. I don’t mind gender being a tiebreaker to make up for the inherent disadvantages we have, but anything more than that is an insult.
We are not begging for it, either. Companies that do it right will get the benefit of attracting more female talent, giving them a competitive advantage. For those who don’t see it this way, I can only say that you are free to make your decisions, and we are free to make ours.
Helen Yang is a fintech entrepreneur with 20-plus years of experience in finance, business and technology, including work at Thomson Reuters and Charles River Development. She is the founder and CEO of Andes Wealth Technologies, which aims to revolutionize risk solutions for wealth management.
