Tech leaders call for broader hiring to boost women

Nexi Group, LemonEdge and Thrive executives have called for broader hiring practices and a rethink of how excellence in technology is defined. Their comments came as the sector marked International Women in Tech Day and the UK government outlined measures to increase female participation in digital roles.

Senior leaders from payments, fintech and AI development described a workforce that remains heavily skewed at senior levels and in core engineering roles. They argued that earlier exposure to technical fields, wider recruitment sources and a greater focus on judgement over narrow specialism could bring more women into influential positions.

Sarah Barslund Lauridsen, chief product officer at Nexi Group, said women remain underrepresented in leadership despite making up half the population and a significant share of the wider workforce in technology-focused businesses.

"Women represent 50% of the population, but much less than half of senior leadership positions. Fintech could better address this by solving its diversity problem more broadly. If companies recruit from the same narrow pools, they will continue to hire people who resemble current leadership."

"Widening the talent lens does not just bring more women, but also better perspectives. I've seen enormous value in hiring from industries like media and digital services, where teams have navigated transformation journeys that technology sectors were only just beginning."

"Many women work in technology, but often in design or product roles rather than engineering or infrastructure. Creating change depends on exposure: introducing programming earlier and more broadly in education to expand the range of people who can see a path into technical careers."

Her remarks reflect a persistent pattern across European fintech and payments. Many firms report progress in entry-level hiring and in functions such as product, design and customer roles. Senior engineering, infrastructure and executive posts remain dominated by men at most large incumbents and many start-ups.

Lauridsen linked part of the problem to established recruitment channels. Many financial technology businesses still draw heavily from traditional banking, consulting and computer science pipelines, where women are underrepresented, particularly in quantitative and infrastructure roles. She argued that experience from other digital sectors can be effectively transferred to fintech product development and transformation.

She also pointed to early intervention. Introducing programming across a wider range of schools and educational paths could help normalise technical skills for a broader group of students and shift perceptions of who can pursue careers in engineering and infrastructure within payments and fintech.

In the AI sector, Thrive AI solutions developer Emily Steen described how personal experience in male-dominated environments shaped her views on confidence, exposure and entry routes for women in technical careers.

"I did not set out to work in AI. I had my sights set on a business career when I started my degree."

"But then I took on engineering internships and fell in love with the work, so much so that I chose to stay in tech. Now I build AI products for clients across different industries. Along the way, I learned something I wish more women heard early on: you do not need to know everything at the start."

"For a long time, I felt I had to be 100% ready before putting myself forward. Then a college peer said something that stuck with me: none of us are confident at the beginning, we work it out. That is when I realised the gap is rarely talent, but more often confidence. Too many women feel they need certainty before they step up, while men around them are more likely to back themselves while learning on the job."

"That is why I always come back to environment. The places where you learn fastest and find opportunities, such as networking events, hackathons and online communities, are still often male-dominated. It can feel intimidating, but the first step is getting into the room. Being surrounded by people who know the industry changes everything. You start to see how conversations work, what skills matter, and where you can contribute. Confidence does not arrive first. It builds through exposure."

"So my advice is simple: proactively expose yourself to the tech world and put yourself in the spaces where learning happens. Go to events. Join communities. Network before you feel ready. Keep learning consistently. Stand up for your ideas and direction in the workplace. Trust your skills, and speak up with confidence."

"If you are interested in AI, start building. Download a builder app like Replit or Lovable. Experiment with different large language models. Automate one daily workflow. The first version will not be perfect, and it does not need to be. Small tools can become meaningful products, and meaningful products can change what people think is possible, including who gets to build the future."

Steen's comments highlight the role of informal networks, hackathons and online communities in accelerating learning and exposure. These routes often sit outside formal graduate schemes and corporate training, and opportunities can still be filtered through social structures that remain heavily male.

She also pointed to the psychological impact of being one of the few women in a technical setting. Feeling as though you represent an entire group can discourage risk-taking and experimentation. Visible female role models and peer support, she suggested, can help offset that pressure and reshape perceptions of who belongs in AI and software development.

At fintech firm LemonEdge, chief customer officer Katharine Briggs focused on how artificial intelligence is changing what counts as valuable expertise inside technology companies. She argued that the shift could open paths for women whose skills have not always aligned with traditional definitions of technical excellence.

"For years, my impression has been that the goal of International Women in Tech Day is to create greater access: how do we bring more women into the industry, and how do we make technology feel more open to people who have traditionally been outside it? That still matters, but I do not think it is the whole conversation anymore."

"Over the past few years, the growth of AI has meant that technical knowledge alone is no longer the advantage it once was. What matters more now is judgement - seeing the real problem, asking the right questions, and determining a good outcome. Value now lies in applying technology to real-world problems, not just technical depth."

"My family still laughs that I ended up as a software executive because I do not code. What I bring is understanding the business problem, making sound decisions, and leading teams through execution. These qualities, once outside the industry's definition of technical, are increasingly critical."

"AI is accelerating a shift toward people who can connect the dots, not just build components. As value moves toward applied thinking and decision-making, the talent pool broadens, including more women. Companies that recognise this early will access wider talent, focus on the right problems, and make better decisions. Equal opportunity in tech is not just about access - it's about embracing a changing definition of excellence, so diversity and opportunity follow naturally."

Taken together, the three executives point to a common set of solutions: earlier exposure to technology, broader hiring across industries and disciplines, and a stronger emphasis on judgment and applied problem-solving to narrow gender gaps in senior and technical roles.