Thread by @nicolecasperson

Media has the power to shape people's thoughts.

I've been one of those little girls looking to see myself in leadership roles. Over time, you start to believe that there's something wrong with you.

That's why I started WTFintech? Here's the (very personal) story behind it👇🏾

There is an incredible and often overlooked impact when seeing someone who looks like you in the news cycle whether that be via a video, newsletter, or podcast.

Women's creative input has historically not made it into our nation's storytelling.

In fintech, most of the products and stories told are made up of men making stuff for other men. That's a problem.

We have to give women opportunities to feel inspired by female leaders.

At a certain point, we have to take some risks or everything just stays the same.

As someone who has been the only female reporter in a newsroom, I've watched male colleagues take female stories for granted, throw them aside.

When I tried to explain to a male reporter societal discrepancies, he shrugged me off. Told me we all have crosses to bear. It broke my heart.

What that moment did was fuel me with the information to know that we’re shaping perspectives around the world.

Fintech, like a lot of industries, has a long road ahead to reach gender equity.

Women represent only 30% of the fintech workforce, 12% of fintech founders are women, and women founders receive just 2% of venture capital.

Although the fintech space is male-dominated, some of the most successful companies are led by women. FT Partners' report does an excellent job highlighting these companies in a 200+ page report. ftpartners.com/fintech-resear…

When launching WTFintech?, it was critical for me to create a women-focused podcast and newsletter to spotlight female and POC leadership/stories doing everyday work to bring equity to financial systems via technology.

It's not about elevating women's voices simply because of gender, it's about showing the world that women, too, are a part of the innovation narrative. It's about putting women at the center of the stories audiences see because women are half of the population.

According to @UN_Women, women’s presence as news subjects in print, radio, and television has only increased to 24% in 2015 from 17% in 1995. And only 9% of news stories evoke gender inequity issues, while 4% challenge gender stereotypes.

My goal here is to be the storyteller that completely shifts the world's view of the male-dominated industries of finance, technology, and media.

I know from hours of interviewing the best minds in fintech that there are fierce advocates — women, men, non-binary — dedicated to changing fintech for the better. I've started to capture those stories via the WTFintech? podcast.
pod.link/1600731457

While we've made so much progress, there's still so much work to do. My promise to you is that I will strive every day to change our world, one female story at a time.

I'll admit, there are times I ask myself: Is anyone listening? Regardless, I keep going, writing, interviewing, and sharing because there is no history without her story.

My call to action is for leaders to listen, learn, acknowledge and strive to be the fintech industry I know we can be. One that's representative of the beautifully diverse world we live in.

Happy International Women's Day all💜💜 #IWD2022