Women in Crypto: Closing The Gender Gap

Women are taking over the crypto world and calling for a gender-inclusive revolution in a male-predominant industry.

In my previous job, the company I worked for promoted a program about diversity, prejudice and sexism in the workplace. The panel promoted by HR would have employees discussing their challenges in a 1:1 session with a psychologist. They were also supposed to picture their ideal working environment as well.

In my private conversation with the therapist, I was honest and shared with her the mansplaining and sexism deeply rooted in the company’s culture – the organization is predominantly white male-led.

Like many organizations in tech and financial industries today, the company’s goal was to reduce bias and promote equity. However, its classic command-and-control approach decreases the chances of a grievance system working effectively. 

In fact, grievance procedures are likely to increase bias rather than reduce it. As pointed out by Harvard Business Review, people often rebel against rules to assert their autonomy. Most corporate diversity programs fail because most high-level male managers don’t think that diversity and inclusion are somewhat important. Or that “they’re too busy” to get involved.

A white male senior individual contributor shared with the non-profit Talent Innovation: “I don’t feel there’s much I can do to promote diversity and inclusion. The ability to get just regular work done is so hard that there’s rarely interest or time to work on the ‘higher order’ tasks that promote a healthy culture.”

What we see in corporate today isn’t new. The therapist who was mediating the diversity program in my former job, a black and homosexual female, was spot-on when she said, “What you see in corporate is just a reflection of today’s society.”

Patriarchy in Corporates

Men designed the financial system; thus, it is designed for men. And further, other industries such as crypto and DeFi carry their counterpart culture, even if the foundation of crypto and blockchain is decentralized.

The thing is, as the psychologist pointed out, our workplaces and corporate cultures reflect what we live in our daily lives outside work. 

However, the centralized financial system and corporate are built-in nonsensical rules tied to internal policies that privilege a few, which can lead to bigotry, leaving little to no room for change. 

On the flip side, the crypto industry advocates for freedom and decentralization – a promising path for diversity and inclusion. 

Crypto at the Forefront of the Women’s Empowerment Movement

So, how could crypto and Web3 break through the Wild West of bro culture? Men largely dominate the crypto world despite the readiness to embrace equity. According to a recent study, only 5% of crypto entrepreneurs are women, and less than 10% of crypto fund partners are female.

What does that tell us? The potential is there, but there’s still a long way to go and an uncharted sea to explore. Fortunately, many women are embracing this opportunity and helping to shrink this massive gender and diversity gap.

Today, it is clear that activism shall expand beyond streets, and true equality is possible to reach through financial independence, education and equally presented opportunities. The next generation of feminists eager to create a balanced and inclusive financial ecosystem.

They know crypto is here to stay, and deciding later down the road whether women should join this economic revolution when the culture and foundation are already set isn’t the best idea. Women belong to crypto as much as anyone else. 

Luiza Adena Engers, CEO at Cryptize, revealed that sometimes she feels like some men in the industry mix up things. “As a woman, sometimes we ask if we got a deal (or someone gave us attention) because of second intentions… Or maybe we didn’t get a deal because we are a woman.”

On a Mission to Make Web3 More Inclusive

Entrepreneurs, former corporate executives, artists, investors and crypto enthusiasts are working together to make Web3 more inclusive. Many projects, ideas, startups, and companies led by women were born from this movement. 

The movement and some studies show that women are in it for the tech. Women make up 15 to 55% of users in crypto exchange platforms, depending on the region. Last year, female-founded startups in the U.S. reached nearly $59 billion in exits in 2021, up 144% compared to the previous year.

Representation matters, and if there is a lack of female-led enterprises in the blockchain space, some women are pioneers and doing everything they can to bring more women along with them.

Women in Crypto Movement

All over the world, women are leading the forefront of movements such as Crypto Female in Turkey, Women in Blockchain Talks in the U.K., Crypto Mujeres in Argentina and Shechain.co in Singapore.

Lavinia Osbourne founded Women in Blockchain Talks. An award-winning education platform that sheds light on women in the blockchain space. She pointed out, it’s not only “nice to have” more women and embrace equity, but it is also a “must-have” for the larger space to thrive. 

In Turkey, Hilal Baktas represent women in crypto with the project Crypto Female. She believes that bigotry and prejudice happen due to lack of technology literacy, and education at a young age would help break the stereotype. 

Yuree Hong is the female figure representing women in crypto in Asia. She’s on a mission to make the blockchain industry more inclusive: “I believe all kinds of partnerships empower the female inclusion in the blockchain space. We can work together so that we can grow and make the industry more inclusive.”

In South America, Crypto Mujeres is helping women to get the tools and resources they need to get into Web3, thus promoting equity. 

Beyond Crypto

Women are also taking over the NFT world and launching non-fungible token (NFT) projects. Collections such as Women Rise, World of Women and Rebel Society are bringing unique artwork and eye-catching colorful pieces to the industry, injecting female energy and creativity into it.