Just a few months ago, Cambridge University published a study with some concerning statistics about the state of fintech leadership. Namely, that more than 87% of fintech companies do not have a single female founder or co-founder, and only 4% of fintech companies are led by a woman. Their study followed a report from Entrepreneur, published a year earlier, which highlighted that ethnic diversity in fintech had increased from 2011 to 2021 – but only by 8%. In ten years.

These numbers could reflect two scenarios. The first is that most fintechs do not create or prioritise diverse teams. The second option is that perhaps some fintechs are trying to right the gender and diversity gap, but their hires are not staying long enough to make a noticeable difference. Either way, there’s a gap between what we know is good for a business – diversity of thought, background, experience – and the staff makeup of many of these cutting-edge financial tech companies. Why?

Because fintech is a competitive sector – everyone is trying to make their services faster, better, and cheaper. Achieving (much less maintaining) diversity in your team requires ongoing attention and deliberate investment, which is hard to maintain when your company has many other priorities competing for resources. I’ve navigated this for years as VP of People at the pan-African and global fintech AZA Finance, and while I am proud to say that we are 50% female and more than 80% diverse (Black/Africa, Asian, Hispanic and Latino), I want to be clear: This level of diversity does not arrive unless it is as important of a goal as your revenue or growth.

Here’s how we made it happen.

Make the business case
There is no shortage of supporting evidence that diverse teams perform better. In 2019, McKinsey reported that companies with gender diversity on executive teams were 21% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability. In fields like fintech, any edge you can get on profitability makes you a better candidate for investment and provides the resources to outshine competitors. Therefore, setting targets for diversity is directly related to performance, which should make the case to your executives, investors, and board of directors if you’re getting any pushback. Once the case is made, make your diversity targets non-negotiable as a company (and therefore departmental) KPI.

Audit your recruitment processes for inclusivity
It is not possible to recruit diverse teams if they cannot find your roles or make it past the first round of interviews. Inclusivity blind spots can easily arise, especially if your company has been in operation for some time.

First, watch carefully for signs of personality-based hiring instead of skills-based hiring. Your recruitment team has to focus on skills and experience at the beginning of a candidate’s journey. The question of cultural fit can come in later interviews. In the beginning, what seems like a ‘personality issue’ can be a bias based on someone’s demographics. Wherever possible, use blind recruitment processes and keep a careful eye on how candidates are being evaluated.

Second, post your job roles where more candidates will find them, such as with organisations focusing on hiring diversity or attending job fairs for underrepresented groups. If your organisation is already struggling with diversity, you should be careful not to be over-reliant on networking platforms like LinkedIn.

Third, share your inclusive working policies, such as flexible working arrangements, parental leave, and other benefits. Your ideal candidate may be reluctant to apply for your open role if these policies aren’t clear. In fact, 56% of employees would consider switching jobs if flexibility was not an option in their current company. If you don’t have these yet, create them.

Finally, include your diversity metrics in your job description. If you aren’t yet proud of your diversity metrics, opt for a mission statement that clarifies that you seek to be a more diverse organisation.

Keep diversity protected in your internal culture
Having a more inclusive hiring process helps bring more diverse candidates into your company. But to benefit from their expertise, you have to keep them—which means having a healthy and respectful internal culture, especially when it comes to diversity. You can make a difference in retaining your diverse staff by prioritising cultural celebration and awareness, creating highly confidential feedback and whistleblowing processes, and investing in mentorship and development.

First, your fintech should know about, celebrate, and educate on the cultural holidays, observances and practices of your customers as well as your employees. It keeps your staff up-to-date on the markets you operate in and also gives your employees a place to celebrate their background if they wish. This is key – not everyone is comfortable sharing so much of their personal lives at work, so do not force the issue. Instead, have your executives lead by example. Your CEO and management team should actively participate in, if not lead, these initiatives.

Second, your HR and Legal/Compliance department should manage a highly confidential and supportive feedback process, including for whistleblowers. As you bring together more people from different backgrounds, it is inevitable that disagreements and miscommunications will happen. In the case of more serious inappropriate behaviour, your employees must have a reporting option that they know is held to the highest standard. This is already required for many licensed entities, so all you should need to do from an operational standpoint is remind your teams that it exists and how to use it. Another more casual option is to encourage the creation of employee resource groups (ERGs). These “over coffee” groups can be a valuable source of support for employees from similar backgrounds.

Third, your fintech should budget for mentorship and development. First would be diversity and inclusion training to tackle the thorny topics of unconscious bias and cultural competency. The second would be on leadership development and “soft skills” so as to help all employees learn how to communicate effectively and appropriately with all levels of their peers. And lastly, a mentorship and coaching program is key. Ensuring that your employees have both a sponsor and a ‘sounding board’ somewhere within the company can help resolve issues before they even reach HR.

We know this threefold process (attributing resources, inclusive hiring, respectful culture) works because we’ve experienced the competitive edge it brings. We have more experience in our teams, and we have lost less institutional knowledge. When employees move on to other companies, many come back years later with even more training and insight. Their reason for returning? Culture and stability. They see them, sometimes, as two separate qualities. However, we know that they are one and the same.