Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
In recent years, women have made great strides across the sectors. Today, many countries like The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Chile, and New Zealand have elected women as the head of state.
In the corporate world, women are rising ... except, it appears, in finance. Only two per cent of global banking CEOs are women, according to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund.
In its study of 800 global banks, IMF found that only 15 of them were serving as the CEO. It is easy to see why. A list of the management committee for Goldman Sachs shows that there are only two women in the 31-strong team. At JP Morgan, there are only three women in the 17-person committee.
New technology is helping to buck the trend. Many women from around the globe are heading-up FinTech companies that are changing the world. In Bahrain, the Economic Development Board (EDB) recently hosted a dinner for Women in FinTech at the Capital Club.
Dr Saeeda Jaffar, as reported in FinTech Focus, has been appointed as an independent director on the executive board of Bahrain’s fledgling FinTech Bay, the largest hub of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, and she was ‘honoured’ to be a special guest at the event.
She comes with an impressive business pedigree and has strong opinions as to how the banking sector should embrace new technology. She says she enjoys supporting women in FinTech, celebrating wins, effecting change through involvement and discussing new ideas.
“I was excited to be with all the other innovative women in this fast-growing industry,” she said. “It was such an inspiring night filled with great conversations.
“I’m looking forward to collaborating with everyone in the future. Thank you Bahrain EDB for bringing all of us together.”
The FinTech world has many inspiring stories about women pioneers. For example, in 2008, Kathryn Petralia contributed to the world of finance by helping SMEs gain easier way to access capital. She started a company called Kabbage which makes it easy for small companies to get business loans. Today, the company has grown to more than $2 billion in financing.
Another example is expat Marta Krupinska. Born in Poland, she went to Ireland to work as a waitress but found it difficult to send money back home. So, she started a money transfer company called Azimo. Today, the company serves millions of customers every month in 195 countries.
The list of how women are contributing to the FinTech world can go on and on and Bahrain is making sure they are encouraged to come on board here too.
