Wise PR manager Chantal Swainston has crafted an index of women in fintech, to help encourage more diversity in events, programmes and public opportunities.
Dubbed the Heard, the index is aiming to tackle issues of gender diversity in fintech, a weak spot for the wider financial technology sector.
The Heard brings together women and non-binary people in fintech who are open to public speaking and wider media opportunities. Speakers include founders and CEOs, as well as experts in employer brand, diversity equity and inclusion, product specialists, crypto, DeFi, web3 leads, marketers and Finextra's very own head of content Madhvi Mavadiya.
The mission is to help event organisers, producers and journalists source more diverse voices in their panels, podcasts, and articles; and ultimately, to bring more women in fintech into the spotlight.
As of today, organisers can use the site to research top spokespeople, with their areas of expertise and availability included on each speaker’s profile. They can then get in touch with speakers via the site, or are welcome to approach speakers directly depending on their availability notes.
In addition, those who want to be listed as speakers, and increase their opportunities for public speaking, can also apply to join the index.
Says Swainston: “I’ve had the good fortune to work with some phenomenal women in fintech during my career, yet many of them still remain people you haven’t heard of. The Heard is just one way we can help to change that, by bringing together the best in the industry who we should all be hearing more from. The calibre of women who have already joined shows just how many fantastic voices there are, who actively want to be part of the fintech conversation. I can’t wait to grow the community, and hear more from them all in the future.”
Current listed speakers include
• Nina Mohanty, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloom
• Margot + Alexia De Broglie, CEOs and Founders of investment app YourJuno
• Gwera Kiwana, Principal at Thrive Africa Community
• Ruby Hinchliffe, Senior Reporter at FTAdviser
• Jihan Ahmed, Employer Brand and DEI Consultant
• Tess Byrant, Head of Brand and Comms at Lightyear
• Flora Somogyi, Head of UX Research at Lightyear
• Roisin Levine, Head of UK and European Partnerships at Wise Platform
• Nadia Costanzo, Head of Banking and Expansion - MEA & LatAm at Wise
• Madhvi Mavadiya, Head of Content at Finextra
• Olivia Minnock, Editor of Fintech Alliance
• Mary Agbesanwa, Fintech Growth Lead at Seccl
• Prasangi Unantenne, Global Implementation Lead at Wise
• Harriet Allner, Associate Director at Common Industry
Want to see more fintech opportunities? Visit the Finextra Job Board for hundreds more roles, and bookmark the link for regular check-ins.