It is an uphill battle, succeeding in the sector relies on being given a fair shot.“
FTA: Has Trachet helped any women entrepreneurs in the financial services/fintech industry?
CT: There are a couple of notable companies which we’ve supported in the sector, most often these were female founders from non-finance backgrounds who needed support structuring their path to scale.
One of these is Vestpod - a digital platform and thriving community that financially empowers women - the work we did for Vestpod was mainly around financial modelling and business plan optimisation, work we did pro-bono.
We also worked with CodeOp - the first international tech school for women, transgender, and non-binary individuals (women+) who want to transition to, or upskill in tech.
Another great company we worked with was Treasure Tress, the work we delivered enabled them to have more clarity on their pipeline and frame the potential of their business to investors.
FTA: Did you experience any glass ceilings? What did you do about these?
CT: I have faced my own share of glass ceilings throughout my career. It's frustrating to encounter something that is so hard to identify and even harder to break.
But I have always persisted, being stubborn in my belief that there's no reason I couldn't do something. I have also done a lot of self-reflection to do things in an authentic way that is true to who I am.
This has meant taking a bit longer at times, but it has always been worth it in the end.
Unfortunately, social models are still significantly biased against women and minorities, which is reflected in lower salaries, slower career paths, lack of access to C-suite or board positions, and fewer and smaller investments.
To achieve a more balanced set of opportunities for women and men, society must make conscious choices to address these biases.
FTA: What sort of steps can small firms take to help the next generation of female professionals?
CT: To help the next generation of female professionals and address the issue of gender bias in hiring, it is important to give more fair shots to women and minorities without lowering standards.
This means being more open-minded when recruiting and creating a culture that is supportive of diversity – not just a corporate slogan.
Despite these barriers, women-led businesses regularly outperform other businesses, delivering excess returns for investors in a more capital-efficient way.
However, I am not advocating for the promotion of subpar businesses simply because they are led by women. It is about giving everyone a fair shot and acknowledging that biases run deep within businesses and institutions worldwide, including tech.
