The FTSE Women Leaders’ latest Achieving Gender Balance report revealed that 43% of board positions across FTSE 350 companies are occupied by women in 2025. Considering that this figure languished at just 9.5% in 2011, it appears there’s been significant progress in the fight for gender equality in leadership roles—on paper.
Dig beneath the surface, however, and it becomes clear that women are not operating on a level playing field, particularly in the payments sector. JP Morgan reports that only 40% of FinTechs have appointed a woman to the boardroom. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of women working in Open Banking believe that their gender has hindered them in the workplace.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The contributions of women such as Muriel “Mickie” Siebert, the first woman to head a US brokerage firm, or Abigail Johnson, the CEO of Fidelity Investments, have been pivotal in shaping the financial sector. But there are many other women who face systemic barriers in progressing their career.
All of this leaves us stuck in a vicious cycle. Not only are millions of women at risk of their own career growth stalling, but the lack of women currently occupying leadership positions also means a crippling absence of role models. Failure to address this inspiration-void may see the next generation of female talent turn their back on the payments industry altogether.
Problems are a dime a dozen
Underrepresentation at the boardroom level is certainly worrying. So too is the disproportionate amount of women studying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects beyond GCSE level. As of 2023, women only accounted for a quarter of the UK’s STEM university students.
Unfortunately, the situation scarcely improves when they join the workforce. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report identified that the share of women who have reported competence-based microaggressions has increased since 2018. Every snide comment, every sideways glance—although they may appear minor, the ripple effect of this type of discrimination shouldn’t be ignored.
Some may argue that older generations are stunting progress. After all, younger people are expected to present a more unified front when it comes to gender parity. However, gender tensions exist amongst the talent of tomorrow—something which does not bode well in the fight for greater inclusivity.
A new study by Ipsos UK and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London agrees. It found that 57% of Gen Z males believe that promotion of women’s equality has gone so far that we are now starting to discriminate against men.
The sad reality is that problems persist, regardless of which rung of the corporate ladder you look at. And while it’s easy to say that salvation lies in placing greater emphasis on diversity targets, things are never quite that straightforward.
Saying “we’re going to hire X number of female employees every year” or “X% of C-suite should be female by 2030” does nothing to change the underlying, long-standing challenges women face. The fight for gender equality shouldn’t be stripped back to a box-ticking exercise.
Pay it forward
To those content to simply continue paying lip service to gender equality, a word of warning. Kantar reports that 75% of consumers acknowledge that their purchasing decisions are influenced by a brand’s diversity and inclusion reputation.
In a time when transparency and authenticity are the currencies that really matter, it won’t take long for a lack of representation to impact your business’ bottom line. The fact of the matter is that women deserve to work somewhere where they have equal opportunities and can make meaningful contributions to overall business success.
The journey to transforming your organisation starts with a cultural overhaul. Female empowerment should become the anchor that guides your business’ actions. From implementing mentorship programmes to participating in educational school talks that boost the financial literacy of the next generation, there’s no shortage of options, both internal and external.
The payments industry is lagging behind, but this shouldn’t be used as an excuse. Just because there’s no existing framework to follow doesn’t mean we should maintain the status quo. Instead, businesses should be asking themselves: what’s stopping us from setting the precedent?
Goda Jurgaityte is Marketing Manager at PAYSTRAX
