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Innovate Finance, the independent industry body that represents and advances the global FinTech community in the UK, today published its Women FinTech Powerlist.

Launched in 2015, the Women in FinTech Powerlist has increasingly attracted a global audience, resulting in applications and nominations from around the world. The 2019 iteration shines a spotlight on 200 women, across 7 categories, who are at the forefront of innovation in Financial Services.

Categories were introduced last year to reflect the growing maturity of the FinTech ecosystem and to make it easier to scan for position-related role models. The categories are: Senior Leaders, Rising Stars, Technology Professionals, Investors, Policy Makers and Regulatory Experts, Marketers & Communicators and Financial & Professional Services.

A select number of women were chosen for the ‘Stand Out 35’ distinction by a panel of independent judges: Ghela Boskovich – Founder at FemTech Global, Ben Brabyn – Head of Level39, Laura Citron – CEO at London & Partners, Sherry Coutu – Serial entrepreneur & Angel Investor, Russ Shaw – Founder, Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates,  Julia Streets – Founder and CEO at Streets Consulting, Catherine Wines – Non-Executive Director and Co-Founder, WorldRemit and Wincie Wong – Head of Rose Review Implementation, NatWest.

Innovate Finance called on the FinTech ecosystem to nominate and submit applications and received over 650 responses, highlighting that there is certainly no lack of female talent within the sector! The quality of submissions this year, notably in the Senior Leaders and Rising Stars categories, led us to increase the list to a total of 200 women.

Commenting on the Powerlist, Charlotte Crosswell, CEO of Innovate Finance, said:

“Our Women in FinTech Powerlist is an eagerly awaited spotlight on the wide range of female talent at the forefront of innovation in financial services, and I would like to thank everyone who participated. All the women on our list are making a difference in the FinTech ecosystem around the world, yet females continue to be under-represented throughout, be it at board and executive level, or as founders looking for still elusive funding.

As a key voice of the sector, Innovate Finance is determined to move the dial and make a difference, especially with regard to the low amount of funding going to female-led organisations. Our recent Investment Landscape report showed that 90% of funding is still going to firms with no female representation at the senior leader or founder level.”

Clare Black, Head of Diversity at Innovate Finance said:

“We were delighted to receive so many high-quality applications this year and grateful to our panel of prestigious judges who helped us to select the women who are moving the dial in FinTech. I am confident that the Powerlist and other events that are part of our Women in FinTech initiative are paving the way to a fairer and more inclusive sector, although we cannot underestimate the distance we still have to travel to achieve this.”

Women highlighted in the 2019 Women in FinTech Powerlist include representatives from various FinTech firms and major banking/professional services firms such as Starling Bank, Monzo, 11:FS, OakNorth, Salary Finance, Onfido, Barclays, Confused.com and many more.