Thursday 28 February 2019 4:10 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:36 am

Female fintech leaders highlighted as sector faces continued lack of gender diversity

Senior figures at major banking and professional services firms including HSBC, Barclays, Schroders and Monzo have been recognised on a list of women excelling in Fintech.

A total of 35 women including HSBC head of digital innovation Diana Biggs, Starling Bank founder Anne Boden and Monzo chief technology officer Meri Williams were highlighted on Innovate Finance’s annual “stand out” list.

A further 115 women working in fintech were highlighted on a list of major players in the sector.

However, the latest statistics show that women represent just under a third of total employees in the UK fintech sector.

Female founders also continue to struggle to raise capital. Only three per cent of venture capital investment in the UK went to fintech firms led by a woman last year, Innovate Finance’s Venture Capital Investment Report for 2018 found.

“I think it is definitely heading in the right direction in terms of the focus that we are seeing," Biggs said.

“The numbers are still quite low but the fintechs I speak to and partner with, I would say they are increasingly aware of the gender imbalance and they are trying to tackle it.”

Charlotte Crosswell, chief executive of Innovate Finance, said: “Innovate Finance is once again proud to release the Women in Fintech Powerlist and I would like to thank everyone who participated in the process.

“These fantastic women are making a major impact on the fintech talent pipeline.

“This is despite continued under-representation in terms of funding female-led firms. It is vital that the sector doesn’t just pay lip service to inclusion and diversity.

“We must now be geared more towards action and ensuring change actually happens.”