Women have been a part of the crypto space since its inception, developing projects, communities, and brands, and addressing many of the issues this fledgling industry needs.
However, they are less involved in launching Web3 businesses. According to the Web3 Career Market Report by cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, 27 percent of female professionals in the field have been involved in founding cryptocurrency startups, compared to 41 percent of men in the survey. The same report revealed that, for many, the "bro culture" in Web3 presents career challenges and barriers for more women.
Diversity has also been a hurdle in other industries, such as technology and finance both of which have intersections with crypto. So it’s no surprise that women are still underrepresented among Web3 developers and cryptocurrency traders. However, more companies in the space are taking action to improve diversity, seeking innovative collaborations and wider adoption.
According to cointelegraph, women in the crypto community about their careers, their journeys into crypto, and diversity in the industry. They are women from different backgrounds, projects, countries and generations. They are all working toward a similar goal: to inspire others, regardless of gender, to join this rapidly growing industry.
Meet Seema Khinda Johnson, Co-Founder and COO of Nuggets:
Seema had a 17-year career leading product development strategies for startups and large tech companies before a security incident brought her to the crypto space: her husband's credit card and personal data were stolen. The experience opened her eyes to the issue of privacy controls, leading the couple to build Nuggets, a decentralized identity wallet, in 2016.
To build the project, she decided to email ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for developer advice. "Everyone thought it was ridiculous and he never responded, but sure enough, 20 minutes later, I got a response with a recommendation of who I needed to talk to. It was a great lesson, and if you stick with it, you almost Can make anything happen," she recalls. While Seema is lucky to have some prominent male allies in the Web3 space, she believes funding and supporting more female entrepreneurs is necessary to boost crypto adoption: “If people are serious about getting 1 billion users into cryptocurrency, then we need to attract and retain diverse teams to build robust products with utility that makes sense for all of us.”
Meet Sandra Leow, Research Analyst at Nansen:
Sandra was introduced to cryptocurrencies by her sister and quickly delved down the "crypto rabbit hole", investing in altcoins and NFTs. Prior to joining Nansen, Sandra was an intern at Amber Group, where she worked on using on-chain data to promote greater transparency in the blockchain space. Sandra still observes the Web2 stigma embedded in Web3, but sees a shift away from old gender biases: "The power dynamics are slowly changing and I'm really happy about that. You don't really see inequalities, at least not in my experience doing research, and I think research is generally very neutral for either gender position."
Meet Devon Martens, Lead Blockchain Engineer at Sweet:
Devon used to work for an education company, where she started supporting their Solidity course. Before joining NFT marketplace Sweet, she went from supporting the project to teaching it at the University of Minnesota, where she wrote smart contracts for some of the biggest names in the industry.
She believes that great role models can inspire more women to consider Web3 as a career choice. Devon also sees emerging industries as opportunities for women seeking to change the world: “In this relatively new decentralized blockchain environment, there is huge potential, especially for female leaders who want to change the world. People are actually teaching themselves, so the barrier of some sort of certification doesn’t exist yet, just Like in some other fields of technology or engineering."
Meet Daniela Barbosa, Executive Director of the Hyperledger Foundation:
Daniela has been following Bitcoin since its early days. In 2010, she was working on a project in San Francisco involving data portability, and many of her team were also involved in the Bitcoin project.
“I remember the days of looking on Craigslist for someone selling bitcoin in their garage in Glen Park, San Francisco among a bunch of bros. Honestly, I was a little disgusted by the local scene, but not enough not to go Pay attention to what's happening." In 2017, while looking for a career in enterprise blockchain technology, she discovered the fledgling Hyperledger project. As an early adopter of cryptocurrencies, Daniela advocates for more women to participate in the cryptocurrency field in various roles, not just as developers.
Meet Sandy Carter, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development at Unstoppable Domains:
Sandy has been working in technology since the dawn of Web2. Her first exposure to cryptocurrencies and blockchain was during her tenure as AWS Vice President. “As I researched potential use cases for blockchain, I became more and more fascinated by the idea of decentralization, user ownership of data and digital property, and community-driven decision-making processes in Web3,” she recalls.
She knows from her own experience in the tech industry that a lack of diversity can limit innovation and creativity, leading to a lack of understanding of the perspectives and needs of minorities.
After joining Unstoppable Domains in 2021, she launched an initiative called Unstoppable Women of Web3 focused on educating and training the next generation of female cryptocurrency leaders.
Meet Briana Marbury, CEO of the Interledger Foundation:
Leading the Interledger Foundation since 2020, Briana is engaging with projects from around the world, ranging from natural disaster solutions to developing peer-to-peer systems. Creating tools that benefit others is her driving force in the Web3 space.
According to Briana, crypto companies must consider multiple perspectives when formulating their strategies, and organizations that lack a gender-balanced workforce are missing out on synergies and innovative collaborations.
Meet Alicia Kao, Managing Director and Head of Strategic Partnership Development at KuCoin:
Alicia, who has a background in sociology, first encountered the crypto world in 2018 after attending crypto conferences. After joining KuCoin in 2019, she found a male leader who could leverage her strengths and let her passion flourish. While she believes the crypto industry is "definitely male-dominated," Alicia also believes that reality is slowly changing: “When builders feel valued and part of a team working toward a common goal, they’re more likely to take risks and come up with innovative ideas. This not only benefits the builders themselves, but also helps when we use Building public trust in the future built by encryption and Web3."
