Unprecedented contribution of women in Web3

Web3, also known as “Web 3.0” or “decentralized web,” is the next generation of the internet that aims to create a decentralized, transparent, and more secure online environment. Web3 is built on blockchain technology. It has the potential to be as disruptive as Web 2.0. The fundamental concepts of openness increased consumer usefulness and decentralization from the Web3 foundation. 

The Web3 premise was coined by Gavin Wood, the founder of Ethereum, shortly after launching the network in 2014. It has become a catch-all phenomenon with the vision to bring a new and better internet. 

At the core of Web3, Blockchain, NFTs, and Cryptocurrencies are used to empower users by providing them ownership. Its core principles guide its creation. 

The followings are the features or principles governing the Web3: 

• Decentralized – Large ownership identities controlled and owned by a centralized authority are replaced by decentralization, where no third party interferes. 
• Permissionless – Every user gets equal access to Web3. 
• Native payments – Web3 uses crypto for sending and spending money rather than depending on outdated financial infrastructure like payment processors and banks. 
• Trustless – Web3 operates using economic mechanisms and incentives rather than depending on responsible third parties.

The basic differences between Web2 and Web3 are: 

Women in Web3

There has been an increasing interest from women to explore the Web3 space, with more than 40% of Web3 professionals showing a solid passion for NFT, Metaverse, and other Blockchain-based activities. Most people believe that Web3 will define the future online; while blockchain technology is more male-dominated, women are taking the front seat in the Web3 community.

The Web3 Career Market Report revealed that women had found mainly their lead in the Web3 space and are more active than their male counterparts in careers. In addition to this, 27% of the professionals have been consistently involved in starting various Web3-related businesses and projects. 

Lou Yu commented on the role of women in the emerging Web3 sector by stating that women have added a unique perspective to Web3 by engaging in the development of various products for the digital space. 

Currently, the Web3 environment can leverage the great potential of women by providing them with leading roles in project and product development, thereby gaining invaluable insights that result in traction.

Women professionals contribute creative and unique approaches to the overall increase of Web3 as a field of numerous applications and use cases for the global digital population. However, the women trailblazers face various challenges. Around 33% of women professionals stated that the Bro culture is one of the biggest challenges, followed by the lack of proper educational resources. Nevertheless, this Bro culture is not unique to the Web3 space but is slowly being phased out of this start-up world.

Contributions of Women in Web3

The Web3 industry requires more communities and systems created by women to make these resources readily available for them to play the role of developers, entrepreneurs, investors, community builders, influencers, and more. Blockchain ecosystems and protocols have encouraged and welcomed women as the leaders of many Web3 businesses and projects. 

On the ICP (Internet Computer), women are making massive contributions across the Web3 board, which includes building decentralized apps (dApps), research and development, and curating communities. It is essential that women also participate in the determination of “what” gets made in Web3. It is not just the Web3 ecosystem that is expanding daily; the number of women involved in these projects is also rising. 

Women are valued for their contribution and ability to develop trust in Web3 workplaces and communities. This implies that women’s sympathetic leadership roles, honesty, and long-term mindset are appreciated worldwide.

Opportunities for Women in Web3

The Web3 community has many revolutionary and innovative organizations, processes, and products. However, there is a considerable general imbalance that still exists in 2023. Web3 can successfully achieve gender balance by breaking the norms that people are generally used to finding in the tech industry. Women have the opportunity to work as integral members of the decentralized Web. 

Web3 gives women the power to humanize and make such products accessible to other women, thereby increasing the opportunities for women on Web3. The future of women on Web3 is sustainable, fair, collaborative, and as diverse as it should be. 

Web3 provides women with fantastic opportunities, like the potential to develop more equitable and decentralized systems to broaden the horizon for more women to join in. It is a game-changing space, removing all gender biases and patterns that tech industries have held for many years. 

The culture allows people to hire more women since culture is nurtured and cultivated by individuals chosen to hire and the values they uphold. If the correct values, model behavior, and processes are created, it can benefit women and ensure that both genders within Web3 are catered to. 

They are hundreds of incredible women who have initiated Web3-related projects and businesses. Still, only some notable names have been mentioned below –

• Lindsay Anne Aamodt – Head of Marketing, Upland Me, Inc. 

By organizing the first virtual fashion show, the Pabllo Vittar IMVU Halloween Party, and the Spirit Word Music Festival, Lindsay developed the first significant brand activations in the IMVU Metaverse.

• Nancy Beaton – Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer – Uphold, Inc.

Nancy aims to turn the IMVU economy, one of the big virtual 3-D worlds, into a NextGen market exchange through VCoin and Blockchain technology. She has also held many executive positions at Sprint and has found new ways to build and grow the platform.

• Carly Francis – Community, Comms, Marketing – Atari

Carly Francis has developed and managed Discord servers where all Web3 initiatives of Attari aggregate. She has also helped create and foster the Atari X community, support communication and marketing, and develop social media accounts.

• Susie Batt – Lead, Crypto Ecosystem, Opera

Susie Batt is the Crypto Ecosystem lead at Opera, spearheading Opera’s Web3 strategies since 2020.

• Nelly Cornejo – Head of Adoption at iExec

Nelly has operated in various top positions in the Metaverse sphere. She has been the jury and mentor at the World Summit Awards, a partner at the Institute of Technological Ethics, co-founder of the IOUR Foundation, Founder of the TAAL project (Blockchain & Inclusion,) and a jury at the Women of the French Economy Awards.

• Tristan Friedman – Partnerships @ OpenSea

Tristan Friedman has been OpenSea’s Creator Partner for over a year. She has also been the head of business development at Outdoorly and NBCUniversal Media for over two years.

• Charlotte Laborde – Head of Concierge @ MoonPay

The Head of Concierge at MoonPay, Charlotte Laborde, has celebrated four years with the platform, contributing in various ways from widget to Web3 infrastructure.

• Alina Bajars – Strategic Planning Manager at Nord Security

Alina Bajar leads and supports Web3 participation in education sessions by joining female executive peers, being the face of the partnership, and guiding the Learnoverse commitment with Unstoppable Women of Web3 as the educational partner.

• Fiona Adams – Commercial Director – Colexion, an NFT marketplace

Fiona Adams is the commercial director at Colexion, the largest NFT marketplace. She was selected as one of the Most Inspirational Women of Web3 by Unstoppable Women of Web3.

• Aurore Duhamel – Web3 & Digital Innovation @ Singapore Airlines

Aurore Duhamel is a highly motivated business leader, bridging business and Web3 to innovation and making ideas a reality.

The employees utilize the benefits or positive impacts that women have on the Web3 industry. Even though every organization is distinct, the benefits or effects tend to be the same. One of the ways that businesses have attempted to encourage, attract, and retain female workers is through the expansion of women-specific benefits such as childcare services, access and coverage of family planning and fertility services, and increases in maternity leaves. These positive impacts have attracted more women to join the Web3 ecosystem by attending events primarily led by women who consciously try to diversify and allow organizations to hire more diversely.

Future of Women in Web3 

Many platforms and events are being held worldwide by educated groups of women who train the next generation of varied talent to onboard more women to the Web3 ecosystem. 

The future of Web3 is more democratized, decentralized, and equal, where more women will be encouraged to learn and participate in the Web3 space. More networking and educational events will be held to help them join Web3 actively. Several initiatives are being taken to connect women everywhere to training resources and education opportunities for blockchain and Web3. 

Many women-centric NFT collections, groups, and artists are making notable strides to promote gender equality and increase their representation in the Web3 world.