Management Practice Insights

Article

Management Practice Insights

Year: 2026, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 41-47

Original Article

Cracking The Gender Code: Fintech Blueprint To Level The Playing Field

Received Date:24 September 2024, Accepted Date:02 March 2026, Published Date:31 March 2026

Abstract

Consumer finance firms have long known that women access financial services differently from men. It is also well known that easier access to financial services leads to better employment opportunities, new ventures and, in turn, greater personal wealth. However, there remains one major hurdle for women to access digital financial services: Their concerns about data sharing and personal safety. So what can bank and fintech management do about it? The answer lies in research by Sharon Chen, Sebastian Doerr, Jon Frost, Leonardo Gambacorta and Hyun Song Shin.1 Their research synthesises insights into women’s attitudes toward technology, concerns about data security, price sensitivity and which products are a better fit. This essay unpacks their framework with real-world examples, as well as practical implications for product development and policy design.

References

1 Sharon Chen, Sebastian Doerr, Jon Frost, Leonardo Gambacorta and Hyun Song Shin, ‘The Fintech Gender Gap’, Journal of Financial Intermediation 54 (April 2023): 101026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfi.2023.101026

2 Douglas W. Arner et al., ‘The Evolution of Fintech: A New Post-Crisis Paradigm?’, SSRN Scholarly Paper no. 2676553 (Social Science Research Network, 1 October 2015), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2676553

3 Sanjay Jog, ‘90% Women Contribute to Household Expenses yet 67% Are Dependent on Men for Financial Decisions Says IndiaLends’, #WorkingStree Survey, 7 March 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/90-women-contributehousehold-expenses-yet-67-dependent-sanjay-jog.

4  Mariya Rosberg, Serving Women As Financial Services Customers, 2020, https://www.oliverwyman.com/ourexpertise/insights/2019/nov/women-as-financial-servicescustomers.html

5 Rachel Croson and Uri Gneezy, ‘Gender Differences in Preferences’, Journal of Economic Literature 47, no. 2 (2009): 448–74, https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.47.2.448

6 Robert Bartlett et al., ‘Consumer-Lending Discrimination in the FinTech Era’, Journal of Financial Economics 143, no. 1 (2022): 30–56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.05.047

7 FinDev Gateway, The Paradox of Gender-Neutral Banking | Publication | (Global Banking Alliance for Women, 2016), https://www.findevgateway.org/paper/2016/10/paradoxgender-neutral-banking

8 Women’s World Banking, New Savings Account Brings Mobile Financial Access to Rural Women and Communities in Malawi, WWB News, 26 November 2014, https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights/press-releasenew-savings-account-brings-mobile-financial-access-ruralwomen-communities-malawi/

9 Women’s World Banking, Successful by Design: Why Creating Financial Products with Women in Mind Is a Win-Win -, Products & Solutions, 18 September 2017, https://www.womensworldbanking.org/insights/successfuldesign-creating-financial-products-women-mind-win-win/

10 Ellevest, ‘Reach Your Financial Goals with the Experts in Women’s Wealth.’, 4 December 2025, https://www.ellevest.com.

11 Stripe, ‘A Guide to Fintech Innovation | Stripe’, Stripe, 30 September 2024, https://stripe.com/resources/more/fintechinnovation-where-financial-technology-is-today-and-where-itsheading

12 Nathan Reiff et al., ‘How Acorns Makes Money’, Investopedia, 25 September 2025, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/090516/how-acorns-works-and-makes-money.asp 

 

<P>13 Justin Trificana, ‘What Is Fintech? 6 Main Types of Fintech and How They Work’, Plaid, 24 April 2025, https://plaid.com/resources/fintech/what-is-fintech/. </P>

 

<P>14 Robinhood, ‘Let’s Talk about Women and Investing’, Robinhood, 8 March 2021, https://www.robinhood.com/us/en/newsroom/lets-talkabout-women-and-investing. </P>

 

<P>15 Veronica Dagher and Caitlin McCabe, ‘Robinhood Wants More Female Investors. So Does Everyone Else.’, Markets, Wall Street Journal, 7 January 2021, https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/robinhood-wantsmore-female-investors-so-does-everyone-else-11610015400. </P>

 

<P>16 Allan M. Malz, ‘The GameStop Episode: What Happened and What Does It Mean?’, Cato Institute, 14 October 2021, https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/fall-2021/gamestopepisode-what-happened-what-does-it-mean. </P>

 

<P>17 Parth Sanghvi, ‘Robinhood Under Regulatory Scrutiny in Europe Over...’, Robinhood, 8 July 2025, https://site.financialmodelingprep.com/marketnews/robinhood-under-regulatory-scrutiny-in-europe-overtokenized-equity-rollout. </P>

 

<P>18 EIGE, ‘Gender Audit’, EIGE, 25 May 2023, https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/toolsmethods/gender-audit?language_content_entity=en. </P>

 

<P>19 Ed Adamson, Craft Trust-Driven, User-First Digital Finance: FinTech Product Development Strategies, 19 April 2021, https://star.global/posts/fintech-product-developmentstrategies/. </P>

 

<P>20 BillCut - Blogs, ‘Learn Smart Financial Strategies to Save Thousands on Interest.’, BillCut, 7 November 2025, https://www.billcut.com/blogs/read/the-rise-of-short-formcontent-in-financial-education. </P>

 

<P>21 IFC’s Banking on Women team, Dalberg Advisors, and Dalberg Research, ‘HER FINTECH EDGE: MARKET INSIGHTS FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH’, Text/HTML, IFC, 14 March 2024, https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2024/her-fintechedge-market-insights-for-inclusive-growth. </P>

 

<P>22 BillCut - Blogs, ‘How Fintechs Measure Real User Engagement’, BillCut, 7 November 2025, https://www.billcut.com/blogs/read/how-fintechs-measurereal-user-engagement. </P>

 

Copyright

© 2026 Published by SPJIMR. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

DON'T MISS OUT!

Subscribe now for latest articles and news.