The ROI of a Balanced Profession

By Christine Umbrell

More and more, the global conversation is turning to women in the workplace and the importance of gender diversity in the boardroom. A 2017 study by McKinsey & Co. found a marked correlation between the presence of women in top management teams and the organizational performance of the company.

That study, “Women Matter: Time to Accelerate,” also found a strong correlation between the presence of women in top management and better financial results. In fact, McKinsey reported a difference in return on equity of 47 percent between the companies with the most women on their executive committees and those with none, and a 55 percent difference in operating results.

Similarly, MSCI ESG Research’s recent study, “Women on Boards,” found that companies in the MSCI World Index with strong female leadership generated a return on equity of 10.1 percent per year versus 7.4 percent for those without. “That’s a pretty powerful statistic,” says Jennifer Miles, president of Ingenico North America. “That being said, the study indicated it’s not about one woman but true diversity across the executive layer that makes a difference.”

Miles, who has worked her way up the ranks in the payments profession since starting her career at Wachovia Bank working with Fortune 500 companies on cash management initiatives, is a shining example of how some payments companies have come to embrace diversity at the highest levels. Those companies are reaping the benefits of a broader mindset at the executive level.

Benefits of Female Leadership

Today’s job candidates are actively seeking companies with diverse executive teams. More than 70 percent of Americans believe that having more women in leadership positions would have significant positive impacts in the workplace, including helping to reduce the pay gap between men and women doing the same work, changing workplace policies in ways that benefit both men and women, and attracting a more diverse workforce, according to a Rockefeller Foundation study, “Women in Leadership: Why It Matters.” The presence of women in leadership positions also is an important consideration to Americans in choosing where to work, according to the research.

Women sometimes “think and react and process things differently,” says Kim Fitzsimmons, U.S. president, Chase commerce solutions, at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Any time you have that, you get a more rounded, balanced view. Companies are starting to really understand that.”

“This is a volatile, complex world we live in. To navigate all of this, you need different opinions and points of view,” agrees Carol Grunberg, head of global key accounts for Ant Financial/Alipay. Grunberg, who has travelled extensively throughout Asia and India in her career as a payments and technology professional, believes women in leadership roles provide not only a diversity of opinion, but also a “different aptitude for how you engage partners and employees,” she says. “You need your employees to come up with ideas for your company to grow. If you foster a space where everyone’s opinion is valued, there is more opportunity for company advancement and innovation.”

At payments companies in particular, many see growth in the number of women in executive positions over the past quarter century—but there remains room for improvement. “When I started my career in payments, I saw a lot of women in the industry but had very few leadership examples to follow,” says Miles, who served five years on ETA’s board. Twenty years later, she sees a “diversity of success stories—especially in payments—and examples that young women have to emulate. I actually believe if we benchmarked the payments industry versus the Fortune 500 at the executive layer, we would be ahead of the overall corporate trend.”

These days, “there are some total rock-star women in the payments space,” says Reetika Grewal, head of payment strategy and solutions for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). “Women are still a minority, but it’s getting more balanced.” While she notices many females in operator roles, “there’s room to have more women in strategy/business leaders roles.”

Grewal, who worked at several banks and startups, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Clairmail, and Sapient, before settling in at SVB five years ago, touts the advantages of payments companies that embrace an inclusive hiring approach: “You have to build diverse teams to get diverse perspectives,” she says.

What’s more, female payments professionals play an important role in understanding consumer behavior and how purchasing decisions are being made, says Julie Pukas, head of U.S. bankcard and merchant solutions at TD Bank. “As you go to larger customers and clients, our customers’ decision makers are increasingly women,” she says. “With what happens at the point of sale, as an example, there’s a high degree there will be a female at the end of that transaction.”

In order to meet the need for more female payments executives, Pukas says more young women should be educated about the sector and its opportunities. “This is not necessarily a profession that women aspire to. And as this profession becomes more dependent on technology—and as we work with more fintechs and other traditionally male-dominated business—we have to be mindful of including women so we don’t go backward.”

Promoting the Profession

In the overall U.S. jobs market, women currently account for 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, but fewer women than men hold leadership positions. Women comprise 44 percent of the overall S&P labor force—25 percent of executive- and senior-level officials and managers, and 6 percent of CEOs, according to data from Catalyst. At S&P companies in the financial services industry, women make up 54 percent of the labor force; 29 percent of executive- and senior-level managers; and 2 percent of CEOs, according to Catalyst.

Given those numbers, Grewal says that companies seeking to boost their ranks of female employees—in leadership roles in particular—should communicate the message that having diverse opinions is appreciated. “Recognize that there is a positive ROI” associated with a balanced workplace. She suggests making others aware of any biases or “blind spots” they may not notice.

Companies should expand their networking activities “to find great people—men and women,” says Grewal. She does her part to help other female professionals advance in their careers—for example, by working with Christine Larson from First Data in organizing “Women in Fintech” events in the Bay Area as well as in New York City. “In New York, we see a lot of younger women starting out in the profession. In the Bay, we see younger women plus a more seasoned crowd.”

Grunberg also engages in activities to help mentor and assist young female payments professionals, on both a national level as president-elect of the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet), and on a local level in Silicon Valley, where she participates in smaller organizations focused on mentoring and career development. “These activities are critical,” she says. “In order for a person to perform their best, they need to have a level of comfort and a feeling of ease. Having a ‘safe haven’ to discuss issues, where women can express concerns and get feedback, is important.” Instilling confidence in women to go after new positions and helping them understand that skill sets can be learned, “allows companies to get the most from their employees,” says Grunberg.

When it comes time to hire, Grunberg believes it’s important to “hire the right person, rather than the right experience.” And she notes that evening out the playing field will require leaders of both sexes to encourage young women to explore new career opportunities.

It’s important to choose the best candidate for a specific role—regardless of sex or race, says Fitzsimmons.  “We need to hire the best person, but work from a diverse candidate pool,” to ensure women have the change to advance, she says. “If you don’t start with a diverse slate, it’s hard to have a diverse staff.”

“My personal goal is to get to a place where it isn’t about ‘female’ leaders, just ‘leaders,’” says Miles. “What we need to do as women is coach, educate, and mentor each other; work with young women in our organizations on how to grow their skillsets; and be cheerleaders and partners to ensure that there is a strong pool of diverse candidates when the opportunities for leadership promotion arise. I believe we will continue to see more women leaders over time.”

Grewal emphasizes the importance of mentorships to prepare young professionals but notes that these relationships do not have to be formal. “I find [mentorships] to be more successful when you sort of gravitate to someone—male or female—with whom you share a connection,” she says. “Mentorship is not a one-and-done thing; you need a personal connection” to sustain you through a protracted relationship.

“All women leaders have to make sure we’re giving younger women opportunities to stretch and grow—and potentially fail,” says Pukas, who sits on the board of directors of both ETA and Wnet. Getting involved in Wnet provides another opportunity for female payments professionals seeking personal enrichment. The organization offers national and regional programming, networking opportunities, and mentorship programs.

Pukas also advises women seeking to advance their careers to “become involved in small community organizations that provide leadership opportunities. … Be as well-rounded as you can.” She suggests younger professionals consider taking part in opportunities that could hone their leadership skills—for example, public-speaking courses.

Leading By Example

Going forward, it will be critical that female leaders demonstrate a continued willingness to grow and evolve when serving as role models. Displaying such traits is important since women, more often than men, may be afraid to try new positions that are out of their comfort zone, says Grunberg. She herself has always loved a challenge, and jumped into a job she knew little about right after college—as an employee in the Cardmember Retention Group at DiscoverCard. After learning how to create programs, customize services, and cultivate loyalty, she entered a marketing leadership program and spent several years at Discover before taking a position at IBM and then Indecomm Global Services, where she lived and worked in India. Later, Grunberg held positions at Tyfone, a startup in NFC technologies, and at Google, where she helped develop Google Offers, Google Wallet, and Android Pay. When approached by Ant Financial Services Group, which operates Alipay, she jumped at the chance to grow her knowledge and contribute more broadly in the global technology and payments space and now travels extensively throughout Asia.

But some women need a little encouragement to take the next step. “Sometimes, women don’t lean in or raise our hands, if we don’t think we’re ready” to move up to the next step in a career path, says Fitzsimmons. “It’s up to women like myself in a hiring role, to bring people along and pull them up.” Fitzsimmons herself has led a successful career by working at companies of all sizes. She entered the industry via a small payments company in Memphis, called Concord ESS, soon after college graduation. After a few years, she started her own payments business, which she eventually sold back to Concord. Then Concord was acquired by First Data. “I stayed on at First Data for eight years,” she says.

Fitzsimmons recalls her decision to leave First Data in 2012, after she had made a positive impact on the company’s culture, as a “pivotal point” in her career. “There comes a time when you just have to take a chance on yourself and believe,” she explains. “Sometimes that’s hard for women to do. But it’s important.” Fitzsimmons took on more leadership positions, eventually serving as president of ETA and president of Wnet, and landing her current position at JP Morgan.

It’s important for female executives to model a continuing search for knowledge, says Pukas. “For me, even now, I learn something new every day,” she says. “The technology is changing, the customers are changing, and the value we bring to the customers is changing. … Merchant acquiring is really at the center of payments. The enabling capabilities we have as an acquirer are really quite substantial, and this industry is very important.”

Pukas attributes her success to three key attributes: First, she is “very focused on building strong relationships, with my colleagues and my team as well as with my customers, and I try to create a working relationship where both parties feel like they ‘win.’” Second, Pukas is curious by nature, “so I am always asking questions and always asking why, which has proved helpful in a tech-driven business.” And finally, she is a “people” person: “I love managing people and leading teams—showing others what is possible,” she says.

Part of leading teams is communicating the message to younger female professionals that it’s OK to try and fail, adds Pukas. “If I didn’t take risks and not worry about being perfect all the time, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Grewal similarly describes herself as someone who “challenges convention” and attributes her success to “a willingness to challenge myself, to try something new, and to look for opportunities to ‘land and expand,’” she says. “Success has meant taking chances, trying to find opportunities, having creativity, and putting my leadership skills into practice.”

As Grunberg has travelled the world and advanced in her career, she has learned an important lesson that works whether developing products and services for consumers and merchants or helping others advance through the ranks: “When you work with people to really understand what they need, that’s when you get the most out of them.” TT

Christine Umbrell is a contributing writer to Transaction Trends. Reach her at [email protected].