When I worked in women's magazines, I truly felt I had found my people. There was no devil - although many colleagues did wear Prada. And my role was clear: Figure out what people want to know and ensure they understand what I'm writing about. If I could do that while also entertaining them, then I did the best job.
Now, with six years working in fintech, and currently at Neo Financial, at the helm of its digital magazine and newsletter The Get, I've seen those skills overlap day after day. While I'm figuring out what people want to know about their money and financial products, telling stories for women readers has given me three unique insights that are valuable whether you work in tech as a marketer, UX designer or a programmer.
Women are Your Pickiest (and Highest Yielding) Customers
When it comes to women and money, fintech has its content and UX work cut out for it. "Females are more direct in asking questions, wanting more contact, more of a social experience when meeting," reports Advisor.ca. And they are hungry for information; 70 per cent report needing to know more about picking stocks before they start trading, according to a Fidelity Canada survey. That survey was reported by The Globe and Mail, which suggests we rethink calling women "risk aware" instead of "risk averse." They also spend more time with purchase decisions: it's 58 minutes for women versus 45 minutes for men.
Yet the finance industry continues to ignore women, even today. A 2025 CIRO (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organisation) research report found that women responsible for the finances in a couple are more likely to not be listened to or treated differently than a spouse or partner. And it's the same for first-generation Canadian women, as they feel they're treated differently by the finance industry than their spouse or partner.
But questions don't equal ignorance. Just picture the smartest person in your high school with their hand raised. Women underestimate their financial knowledge by 23.5%, despite having strong results, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada reports. Furthermore female investors outearn men by roughly one to two per cent in annual returns.
When women are engaged as clients through marketing and UX design, they're not only good investors, they're good clients.
At Your Service Journalism
Service journalism (the how and why articles, while news journalism covers the who, what and where) exists because of women's magazines. What started out as domestic how-to publications, like Chatelaine (1928), evolved into feminist mobilizers when iconic editor Doris Anderson was the EIC from 1957 to 1977. Today, it's a multi-channel pub covering food, fashion, health and social issues. Women's service journalism offers practical advice, clear language and entertaining reads for very busy women who want all their questions on a topic answered in a single article.
I remember taking a seminar in service journalism, when the speaker said: "Don't worry about being too explanatory. No one ever said, 'I understood that too well'." And I've carried that with me through every piece of copy I read. When I first honed this skill, I would get into the mindset of my reader. She doesn't want merely access to experts; she wants advice that is credible and works. So make her life easier and enrich it.
This "female standard" will not only elevate your women's audience experience, but everyone else's too. Don't wait for real-world feedback. Treat all levels of communication, from marketing to in-app experience, with those you serve as a luxury, white-glove experience. Anticipate their needs. Answer their questions before they know to ask. This applies to tech and fintech, where a surprise is never good.
Stop Playing Neutral
When I played soccer years ago, I remember having to buy boys' cleats because the women's shoes were all various shades of pink. I ended up with bruised soccer toes every season. I needed women's shoes to fit my feet.
There's no need to pepper your UX and blog with pink flowers. But trying to remain "neutral" won't work either. I'm talking about the myth of the neutral user. That's when product and content teams target what they call an "average user," and they almost always unconsciously default to a male persona, right, guys?! (I'm not offended when someone says "guys," but I'm illustrating a point here.) So, stop writing and creating for developers and regulators, and create for real people, which includes women. They want steps. They want to know risk. They want to see the fine print. Find out where the good information is hidden and reveal it in your tech and marketing.
Finance and tech have a lot in common, especially with archetypes of "bros," inaccessible lingo, the confidence card needed for entry. But it doesn't have to be that way. Women's needs are the barometer of what is good to do for customers.