Women’s Leadership in Fintech: Cross-Country Evidence

Abstract This paper provides key insights into women’s representation in the fintech industry, and descriptively examines the association between female leadership and firm performance in this industry. Using novel data from fintech firms in over 80 countries, we find that women leaders in this industry remain scarce. Our analysis reveals that firms founded by women are associated with lower firm performance as measured by their estimated revenue and funding acquired, especially for small firms. On the other hand, there is a positive association between gender diversity in executive board and firm performance, especially for mid-to-large sized firms.