Walk into just about any fintech or crypto conference, and one of the first things you can see is the gender imbalance. Rows of booths and panels, conversations all over the place — but women are still noticeably underrepresented. Even after almost two decades of working in financial markets, I often find myself in rooms where women can be counted on two hands.
This imbalance isn’t just about social fairness; it’s about missed business opportunities. It’s a gap that costs the industry real innovation and growth. Fintech is one of the fastest-developing sectors, both in Southeast Asia and globally, but by keeping women on the sidelines, it leaves enormous potential untapped. An estimated US$700 billion worth of potential, if we are to speak in more specific terms.
The good news is that things are gradually changing. The world is learning to recognise that women having equal space to lead and build in finance is not just possible but also beneficial for everyone involved.
Let me explain what I mean by that.
Why inclusion equals innovation
When women are at the table — as founders, executives, employees, and customers — financial products stand a real chance of getting better. Why? Because they can be designed with more people in mind and reflect real-world needs.
Take lending, for example. Women entrepreneurs often face unique challenges securing credit due to a lack of collateral or traditional financial histories. According to past reports by the World Economic Forum, 80 per cent of women-owned businesses with credit needs are either unserved or underserved by financial systems globally
This means that female founders are more interested than many others in developing more inclusive products and services. Drawing on personal experiences and needs, they can design solutions like alternative credit scoring or micro-lending platforms that stand to benefit not just women, but many other underserved markets.
Also Read: Why AI inclusion matters: Lessons from Mongolia’s Girls Code movement
At the same time, a team with more diverse representation can hedge better against risks. Members from different backgrounds are more likely to identify overlooked niches or spot potential drawbacks. All of which will help your business respond better to evolving consumer demands. In fintech, where the landscape shifts on a daily basis, that adaptability can make or break a company.
Southeast Asia: A region at a crossroads
Southeast Asia makes for a promising case in female inclusion because its fintech ecosystem is still young. Unlike the more mature markets, there is still room to shape the rules of the game, set new norms. This region has a unique opportunity to build gender diversity from the start instead of trying to “fix” things afterwards.
That said, there are still barriers that get in the way of female participation. Only nine per cent of fintech firms in Southeast Asia are founded or led by women, and the number of management positions held by them is limited to roughly 15 per cent. What’s worse, this number drops even further during the later growth stages, becoming closer to 10 per cent.
Also Read: Inclusion starts at the top: Why listening beats moving fast in Southeast Asia
Curiously, Singapore shows comparatively better performance than the rest of the region. In 2024, women held 25 per cent of board seats in the top 100 locally listed companies. This figure is slightly up from 2023, so we can see that progress is happening, even if it is slow.
But if we look in perspective, Asia already has a higher proportion of female leadership compared to some other regions. Take GCC countries, for example: in 2024, women there held only five per cent of board seats on average. The UAE had been the only major outlier, standing at 10.8 per cent. By comparison, the above-mentioned Singapore is already considerably ahead.
And that gives us a glimpse of what the future can be. While far from perfect, Asia already has the momentum it could use to become a role model for inclusive growth in fintech. Whether or not it takes that opportunity — that’s the question now.
Using the ripple effect to overcome barriers
Of course, numbers alone aren’t the whole story. What women in financial markets really need are stories: real experiences, shared by women who have faced scepticism in male-dominated boardrooms but pushed through it. Many female workers currently feel like outsiders in finance because there are few role models they can look up to.
To change this, we need to pay greater attention to community support and culture-building. Young women entering the workforce need to see those who came before them — female CEOs, business leaders, investors. And by knowing that their predecessors succeeded, they can, in turn, find inspiration and believe in themselves.
Also Read: Built for all or built to fail? Why tech for social impact must start with inclusion
It’s for that very reason that I began my own initiative called Women Leading the Way a couple of years back. Even though I myself haven’t actually run into that many cases of toxic behaviour, it felt to me that I could help give voice to women who have. And so I set out to build a networking platform where female professionals could meet and talk openly, sharing their stories, struggles and successes.
And one thing I found inspirational is that, as the initiative gained popularity, it wasn’t just women who took part in it. Yes, many wrote to us with feedback saying that it felt heartening to see many of their own problems being openly discussed by others. But, even more interestingly, many men also joined the effort, talking about our platform with their acquaintances. Some of them would even recommend female colleagues who could take part in our discussions.
It proved a simple but effective point: representation can create change. So long as there are people committed to speaking out and championing a cause, there will be those who will choose to follow. That kind of change won’t happen in a day, but it will happen so long as we keep pushing for it.
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