From an article by Lisa Winning , Women@Forbes:

To say that these past twelve months have been a time of reckoning with gender imbalances across industries is an understatement. From accounts of harassment and abuses of power to the revelations of grossly unequal pay structures, every industry ranging from Hollywood to Silicon Valley is now (or should be) grappling with disparity and, subsequently, sparking conversations to find resolutions. Although still a relatively new space, the Blockchain community must also address the lack of representation and, in some cases, opportunities for women.

Before we dive into the need for female leadership throughout the blockchain community, we must first understand how this imbalance pervades the blockchain industry as a whole–not just those who work for decentralized organizations. As recently stated in Forbes, women account for just 5-7% of all cryptocurrency users. To many technologists and financial experts alike, blockchain represents the future of banking; and if these numbers don’t improve, it could mean that women may be left out of this shift and the financial opportunities that will accompany it.

Bitcoin, the most prominent coin on blockchain, has already amassed global interest and a frenzy of investments, despite its volatile valuation. However, this coin’s global usership is overwhelmingly lopsided. A recent Harris Poll survey published by Bitcoin.com found that, not only are men more likely to have owned Bitcoin and buy it in the future, but they also hold more favorable viewpoints of Bitcoin in general. While we cannot reverse the clock on blockchain and build a landscape steeped in equality from the outset, we can take necessary strides right now to ensure that blockchain practices what it preaches and offers a decentralized, equally accessible architecture for all.

 

Image Credit:  Amanda Scott/Alias Studio Sydney

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