Across all industries, women make up more than 50% of university graduates, but fewer than 15% of CEO and board-level positions. As such, while the participation of women in tech across Southeast Asia is slightly higher than global averages, the Fintech industry in particular remains a difficult space for women leaders to break into.
Fintech, like the rest of the startup community, has opened the doors for many aspiring women to become successful in their chosen interest. One such person is Dana Nino, senior vice president for Global Growth, Customer Success and Partnership at Nium.
Nino has directed her experiences in payments – PayPal, Ebillme, Cambridge Global Payments, Mastercard, Geoswift, Emerging Payments – into a thriving career.
“I think the excitement of the growth aspect of it and how quickly the payment space changes is always an exciting thing in the Fintechs,” she quipped.
Transformation opens doors
Asked how technology and digital transformation have changed the role of women in leadership positions, Nino remarked that digital transformation has opened the doors to more women beyond just the tech industries or the roles to play in.
“I think having more women come into the tech fields and have opportunities around learning through technology and all of these different things that can diversify their background, their resumes get more and more robust and, you are seeing more women in leadership over the last several years. I think that is a benefit of it,” she opined.
The pandemic diversion
Nino observed that a lot of HR departments have been making great strides over the last several years focusing on and prioritizing equality in their hiring practices, how they're sourcing candidates, looking for more women leaders in these tech-centred roles.
She felt that the effort has been diverted during the pandemic, perhaps rightly so, on keeping staff employed, on optimising the workforce, how to help employees be successful working remotely.
Leadership qualities that stand out
For Nino, having an innovative mindset is important – to be able to look at how things were done in the past, and discover new approaches. She opined that solving problems may requiring collaborating with others.
“Half of the battle of leadership is having successful teams that want to work with you, to do a good job, participate in the process, make the company successful. Having a personality and management style that engages people, helps them feel the value that they are a key part of the team even if we are in different parts of the world – that remains very important,” she opined.
She also acknowledged the importance of soft skills.
“Women bring a different perspective in boardroom discussions, in negotiations.”
There will be sensitive topics that will come in discussions – a customer, an investor, an employee. “Bringing that different perspective and approach to problems, to crises, to employee issues, anything like that I think that is a strong attribute that I always value and female leaders that I've worked with and it seems to contribute greatly to the cohesiveness of the team,” she commented.
Leadership lesson
There exists a fine line between strength and empathy, she cautioned.
“As a female leader, especially in a male-dominated industry, it is important to have confidence in your ideas, and presenting your ideas and being able to understand that you know everyone in the room is there for a reason.”
She stressed that ideas are not always a result of background, experience or degree. She stressed the importance of having confidence in oneself. “Know that you are there for a reason, that you have earned your way there – that helps you build your confidence in your ideas, strengthen your creative side, and not have to worry about the other guys in the room,” she added.
Significant barrier
Nino alluded to a lack of perseverance as a potential barrier to a successful career. It helps to question how things could have been done differently.
“Don’t get stuck in one thing. If you have an opportunity that you are going after and you fail, don't get caught up in the failure. Just move past that, move on to the next thing, that was not meant to be, for whatever reason, and move on to the next opportunity,” she advised.
One final advice
For those just starting on their career path, do not be afraid to go after a job that just looks like a challenging job on paper.
“A lot of times you should push yourself. Don't always go for the job where you tick every single bullet point on the job description. Go for the ones that you hit three quarters of them, and the rest are going to be challenges. You are going to have to work for it and learn as you get there. Build that confidence in yourself as you start early in your career,” she explained.
For those already in the workforce, she recommends embracing the differences of the people in your team. There is a lot of value on both side.
“I value the differences in the way my male counterparts think and approach different problems the way they solve problems. The more cohesively you can work with your counterparts and be successful at it, and gain cooperation as a group and as a team, that has an impact on how far you're going to go in your career,” confided Nino.
Click on the PodChat player and hear Nino share her views, experiences and advise for aspiring women professionals in a man’s world.
