By Anna Chandler, Director of Marketing UK, Adyen
There are a lot of misconceptions about the payments sector.
That it’s a stuffy, male-dominated industry. That it’s not very interesting. That it’s not very innovative. The truth is that some of the misconceptions weren’t unfounded. At least in the early days. But today, there are loads of interesting fintech companies that are disrupting the space and throwing out the old rule books.
Not only are these companies creating a new sector – where coding and programming skills are as highly desired as other traditional finance skills – they are breathing in new life and perspectives and encouraging greater diversity. It’s an innovative industry that’s looking to challenge the status quo and find better ways of doing things, across the board.
Businesses such as Adyen were built on the premise of starting over and creating a better system from scratch (Adyen literally means ‘start over again’ in Surinamese). As a result, these organisations are natural leaders when it comes to challenging ways of working. And with a start-up mentality they can move quickly when they see ways to improve. This has positive implications for diversity and inclusion.
The 10 years I’ve been working in the payments sector have been really exciting. The thing about payments is that it has a really broad service offering and touches just about every sector and is increasingly seen as a powerful growth-driver. So I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the success of many business types, from retail to gaming, to hotels and restaurants, digital subscription services and everything in between.
And I’ve met some truly inspiring women business leaders along the way. Two which I’ve had the pleasure of working with recently are Daye.com and Birdsong. Both of these innovative businesses put sustainability and equality at their core. Both are brilliant in their own right. Which is why we decided to feature them in our celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day. You can see their full, inspiring stories here.
So, this is a call to all women seeking a diverse and fulfilling career to consider the payments industry. With such a broad range of roles available, there’s opportunities for a variety of skillsets and interests. And, since many of these businesses are striving to challenge old-fashioned ways of working, you’ll likely find yourself in an environment that’s working hard to champion diversity and strive to create an amazing place to work, regardless of gender, age, life-stage or background.
To foster support and collaboration we launched the Women’s Leadership Network which hosts events for people committed to championing work environments where both men and women can thrive. It’s about extending networks and sharing experiences – enabling everyone to be leaders in their own right. You can learn more about it here.
About the author
Anna Chandler is Director of Marketing for Adyen UK. With 15 years of marketing experience, she has been central to helping understand audiences, shape brands and launch products. She believes data, creativity and good humour are the keys to driving new business and influencing commercial strategy. Committed to championing equality and driving CSR initiatives, Anna co-founded the Adyen UK Women’s Leadership initiative, providing educational networking opportunities for women in retail & tech.
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