Female Executive in Fintech Talks: Emanouela Petrou, Head of Research and Market Analysis at EcoGold Group - Differences between Male and Female Crypto Traders

Emanouela Petrou is a Research and Market Analyst with experience in helping companies grow for over 10 years domestically and internationally. She has a demonstrated track record helping investors analyse and evaluate investment opportunities and asset allocation in traditional and alternative asset classes, as well as crypto.

Fazzaco made contact with Emanouela for the Women's Day specials, and invited her to join us and share her ideas and stories as a female leader in the fintech business.

Fazzaco: Hi Emanouela! Thanks for joining us at Fazzaco today!

Emanouela: I am well an eager to start our conversation!

Fazzaco: Which female is your role model that has always been inspiring you over the years?

Emanouela: This one is easy, and it's of course my mother! She has always been my rock and inspiration, even at times where my career was taking over my personal life. She keeps reminding me the importance of work-life balance; although she has been working her entire life, she still manages to gracefully balance the dynamics at work and at home.

Fazzaco: Tell us about the story that led you to your current position.

Emanouela: That's a great question. I have always dreamed of becoming an Auditor, and it let me to a completely different direction. I started out as an accountant and I quickly realized that this wasn't meant for me, it was not challenging enough, and I just knew it wasn't my passion, and I didn't want to be stuck in this profession. And that's the story of how I landed in the FX industry as a Technical Market Analyst back in 2013! From there the journey has taken me to the crypto and blockchain industry.

Fazzaco: Reportedly, the first Covid year knocked 54 million women around the world out of work. Of the women who lost jobs, almost 90 percent went completely unemployed ever since, compared with 70 percent of men. What is your opinion on this?

Emanouela: If we take into consideration that women provide most of the informal care to their spouses, parents and often act as the primary caregiver to their children, the figures you have just mentioned make sense. Covid year has been extremely hard on everyone, and with schools closed and kids being cooped up at home, parents faced a lot of challenges. It goes without saying that women have taken a harder hit that men due to the existing gender and systemic inequalities – policymakers' choices to not provide robust social safety net or invest in proper caregiving. Which is why a lot of women choose to not have kids due to the way society is built, they feel that they won't be able to have a career.

Fazzaco: What has been the biggest challenge to date that you've had to overcome?

Emanouela: One of the biggest challenges that I had faced and overcame was the bullying and harassment of a director of an international company that I used to work for, when I was a lot younger. Although I have a strong personality, he still managed to affect me in a way that I didn't think it could ever be possible. At the time, I thought that if I speak up, I will lose my job, and because I need this job, I need to remain quiet. Even though most of my colleagues offered me their "silent support", no one dared to speak up – with a few exceptions; I do appreciate the fact that some women were there when I needed to talk about problems that came my way and helped me manage the situation. I learned to be patient and remained diplomatic, until I managed to find a way to eliminate the "problem". I also learned that you cannot rely on a broken legal system, that makes it extremely difficult to report misconducts.

Fazzaco: Glad that you handled it so well! Now the next question is, are there many female crypto traders? How do they behave in comparison with male traders, if any difference?

Emanouela: In comparison to men, there are not many female crypto traders, although I noticed an increase the last few years. Female crypto traders rely a lot on the power of the community to gather insights and information, and they even form private Facebook groups to exchange intel with fellow female traders! This is also because they have very limited or no knowledge about crypto assets. Whereas men are more independent and have better knowledge on the subject. I do hope that the gap between the female and male crypto traders will disappear as mainstream adoption takes off!

Fazzaco: How would you enjoy yourself outside of work?

Emanouela: I read a lot for both educational purposes as well as pleasure, I exercise a lot and I love trips and excursions!

Fazzaco: What are your thoughts on where the industry is heading?

Emanouela: It's difficult to predict where things are headed, but the interest by both retail and institutional investors has risen sharply in the last few months. Another positive trend is that there are several new developments that suggest that that industry can still sustain itself even if investors' interest declines. However, there's no doubt that the industry will face headwinds this year.