Fintech continues to wrestle with gaps in pay, progression and representation, despite years of conversation around inclusion.
Nadia Edwards-Dashti, chief customer officer at financial services recruitment firm Harrington Starr, profiles the male leaders she believes are using their influence to support fairer, more inclusive workplaces.
The inequities we see in fintech reflect those across wider society. There are persistent pay gaps, promotion gaps and leadership gaps for most minority groups. These groups include LGBTQIA+ professionals, women, ethnic minorities, and people from low socio-economic backgrounds. They are promoted less, paid less, and more likely to be made redundant.
Now more than ever, the burden of inclusion work must be lifted off the shoulders of the marginalised. Yet the trend in many workplaces has been to turn a blind eye to poor behaviour. Silence in the face of discrimination allows harmful systems to continue.
Male allies are needed more than ever. That allyship needs to be active and consistent. It must include supporting, uplifting, and defending people. This must not be private, but public and structural.
Below, I profile a series of male leaders across fintech who represent forms of allyship. Each demonstrates how men can use their influence to create fairer workplaces.
In the face of headlines questioning whether “women have ruined the workplace” these men are helping build a better one. A future workplace where everyone has access, opportunity, and the chance to thrive.
‘The Learner Ally’
Simon Schofield, technology leader, Asset Management
Fintech prides itself on innovation. Inclusive leadership starts with the art of really listening.
“Hearing people’s different journeys… that’s what opens your eyes,” says Simon.
He shows up to learn. He attends industry events to broaden his understanding of lived experience, and he asks questions. His allyship is a continuous education.
‘The Shared-Responsibility Ally’
Sarwar Khan, director, Salesforce
Sarwar’s starting point is that “equality is a shared responsibility. It’s not just something that applies to some of us.”
He is clear that hiring is only step one. The real test is infrastructure. Businesses need to ensure the right policies, resource and development programmes are in place to genuinely support people.
Sarwar positions allyship as also a core leadership skill, encouraging leaders to deepen their understanding of others. This can be achieved through employee resource groups to support future growth.
‘The Mentor Ally’
Deon Pillay, marketing leader, Investment Management
Deon’s allyship is shaped by gratitude and responsibility. “As a leader, it’s my job to activate and create opportunity.”
He has mentored and coached dozens of women, often for free. He believes opportunity is the most valuable resource a leader can distribute.
When new projects emerge, he ensures women are positioned to take them. Mentor allies don’t wait for potential to self-advocate. They unlock pathways that might otherwise remain invisible or impossible alone.
‘The Celebration Ally’
Kris Foster, co-founder, Project Nemo
Kris represents a form of allyship rooted in gratitude, visibility, and amplification.
“It took a leader believing in employing someone with additional needs… Three years later, I’m co-founder of Project Nemo.”
His focus is on “passing the mic” to celebrate those who elevated him. He now creates the same upward momentum for others. He publicly boosts people so that others can recognise that talent.
His work has meant that the entire financial services industry now has disability inclusion on its agenda.
‘The Role-Model Ally’
Dean McIntyre, chief commercial officer, SimCorp
Dean links allyship to high performance. “Diversity of thought is fundamental for achieving the best outcomes for our clients, for our colleagues and for our business. We know that inclusive teams contribute to broader knowledge and better decisions, leading to success within organisations.”
He continues: “I feel a personal commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion; my goal is to ensure my teams reflect society and our clients and that everyone has opportunities to thrive in their careers, based on talent and skills.”
As a role-model ally, he is working towards an environment that serves growth, learning and career development.
‘The Actionable Ally’
Tom Sturge, co-founder, Unconventional.Business
Tom has fought for equal pay across the technology industry, once offering his bonus to rectify a pay inequality he had uncovered.
He has “always tried to be the voice” for women and minorities in heavily male engineering teams. When he saw a lack of pay transparency, he committed to using his voice to drive change.
Through his culture and DEI agency, he now works with young adults in colleges and universities with a focus on opening pathways for women entering Fintech.”
‘The Confidence Ally’
Suresh Vaghjiani, CEO, Clowd9
Suresh’s allyship appears in moments that many people overlook and shy away from. He challenges assumptions in real time and counters dismissiveness. In particular, he refuses to let expertise be downplayed. He supports women by boosting their confidence.
Often, he sees internalised behaviours women express because workplaces have conditioned them to. “I’ve heard women say ‘I’m not technical’ when they know more than anyone in the room.”
Suresh corrects narratives before they calcify. He boosts those around him and, in doing so, ensures a level playing field.
‘The Brave Ally’
Billy Chalk, managing director, Delta
Where calling out addresses issues, calling in reshapes culture. Billy leads with everyday courage. “Being brave means challenging why… having your teammate’s back when it’s easier to stay silent.”
He champions a culture where bravery is expected, not exceptional. He questions and uses quiet leadership to make space for overlooked voices.
Billy redirects conversations without public confrontation. His leadership proves that allyship can be firm and compassionate.
‘The Pipeline Ally’
Alex Jonas, financial services senior manager, Accenture
Alex’s allyship is rooted in lived experience and a refusal to climb alone. Growing up at a young age with dyslexia, he knows what it means to find different routes through the system.
He channels that into energy and action, saying, “I encourage next-generation support for opportunities in STEM careers.” He invests in talent pipelines others will overlook. He partners with charities, tech platform providers and schools to identify and tackle social mobility issues; in doing so, changing people’s lives.
He uses his senior position to raise funds to back these groups and open further opportunities to create equal opportunities for all.
‘The Metrics Ally’
Max von Bahr Emilson, C-level, TrueLayer
Max’s example of allyship is hard-wiring inclusion into leadership metrics. He says, “Anyone who has a reporting line, I want to know how many of their staff identify as female.”
He went further, saying that this is the “first slide we present every month” in the commercial meetings. It has become self-reinforcing, with the percentage of female representatives tripling. “I’ve been now reporting this KPI first thing on every all-hands every month for over three years,” and has seen the attitudes around the importance of the topic shift.
The consistency of his actions has led to everyone taking note and getting involved in the solution.
‘The Fair Opportunity Ally’
Cecil Adjalo, co-founder, Foundervine
Cecil has raised awareness for the industry’s inequities and now focuses on action. His startup accelerator was founded with inclusion at its heart.
He says, “Women get much less investment than men. I don’t see diversity and inclusion as optional; it’s common sense.”
He normalises conversations others might avoid by campaigning for a level playing field for any founder no matter their background. He paves the way for entrepreneurs to have fairer access to funding and support structures to give them platforms to thrive.
‘The Shared Responsibility Ally’
Adam Baldwin, head of legal, Modulr
Adam says that over his career he has seen multiple projects that had women in the technology teams. He said that they “ran better” than homogeneous groups. He added that he saw this in ” the ideas, the ideation, the creativity, and the working style.”
He is actively driving leadership standards for support for women at work. This is from when they enter the sector to how they are promoted and progressed.
Adam warns, “There’s a danger that the businesses put too much onus on the women to solve the issue.” He believes that the responsibility for better gender balance in the industry lies in leaders changing to accommodate and amplify female voices.
‘The Questioner Ally’
Warren Mead, CEO, Sumer
As a hiring leader, Warren redirects the conversation, “When my team comes to me about a candidate, I always ask: what are their values? What’s their potential? If you only recruit for experience, you’ll get more of the same.”
He pushes people from “words to action”, saying, “it’s about small changes you hold yourself to account for.”
Those who question assumptions make inclusion unmistakable in language, leadership, and who gets to shine. They question the hiring, promotion, or redundancy decisions made behind closed doors. They ask about the ramifications of groupthink on tomorrow’s ideas.
‘The Culture Ally’
Toby Henry, CEO, Accelerator Solutions Limited
Toby works for a business with gender balance. He attributes this to his female founder’s creation of a “very strong culture of allyship.” For him, inclusion is validated externally as much as internally.
His clients “notice and appreciate” the diversity and quality of the people they work with.
He notes that it’s not only about gender balance, but also about celebrating differences in lived experiences. Those experiences are valued, listened to and learned from.
‘The Door Opener Ally’
Wasim Mushtaq, founder at 1CG
Wasim’s allyship is rooted in action, humility, and transparency in the rooms where real decisions are made. He uses his position to create access and challenge inequity at the system level. He says, “This whole movement doesn’t work if men just stand back and watch.”
He refuses to accept broken structures and pushes back, especially when hiring and promoting, saying representation is key. He goes way beyond sharing advice on how to progress at work. He gives people access to opportunities, visibility, influence, and rooms they might otherwise be excluded from.
“Women don’t need heroes. They need people to provide them access to what they already have.” This humility makes space for others without centring himself.
Male allyship is not the solution, but it is part of the solution. Men still hold the majority of leadership roles, budget authority, investment power, and decision-making influence. When they use that influence intentionally to sponsor women, create equitable teams, challenge bias, and design inclusive cultures, the entire sector benefits. These examples show how wide and varied allyship can be. At a time, it is so urgently needed.