There are many industries that fall under the “boys club” category. For all its democratic ideals, even cryptocurrency has regrettably been relegated to this status.
It seems like there just aren’t that many women interested in the blockchain and cryptocurrency. Is it the technology or ideas that they don’t seem to want to get behind? Or, is it a self fulfilling prophecy because there are so many men already established that it puts women off the idea of jumping into the fray?
The fact that it was underground for so long may play a part, but these days crypto has become rather mainstream. Just about everybody these days knows how to create bitcoin wallet.
Let’s dive in and take a look to see why this may be the case that women are not so interested in cryptocurrency.
It’s nerdy
There’s no denying that cryptocurrency has attracted a bit of a nerdy contingent that are also libertarian leaning. The blockchain is based on intense mathematics and cryptography. Originally, it was so underground an idea that it was mainly just cypherpunks that were mainly interested in a social upheaval and saw cryptocurrency as a means to this.
Not to say there aren’t any women who fit this criteria, but surely there are far less than men.
The other side of that coin is that the developers of the blockchain were mainly game designers and programmers. This industry has a long history of gender discrimination so it was natural that there weren’t many women who were involved since they had been effectively shut out of the process.
A sad but true aspect of the adoption of cryptocurrency is that it was used early on by bad actors looking to circumvent strict banking laws against money laundering. There aren’t many women in those dark areas of the web, so naturally they weren’t going to be among the early adopters.
Sexism in the finance industry
Cryptocurrency intersects naturally with the finance industry. Even though it has disrupted that industry, it is within that realm.
There are few industries more geared towards men than fintech. It is not uncommon for after parties at fintech conferences to be held at a strip club or to have scantily clad waitresses serving drinks at an event.
This is not exactly the type of atmosphere that many women would feel comfortable in and it is natural that there would be less women involved.
And there is rampant discrimination within the industry. There is an unfortunate attitude amongst many in the industry that women are not cut out for the rough and tumble world of finance. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, but this mentality is hard to put down.
Times are changing
With those outdated ways of thinking and more reforms against gender discrimination in the books, there is slowly a change in culture. There is a push from within to be more inclusive towards women.
Aside from being on the right side of history by being more inclusive, there is a benefit to be had by more women getting involved in the tech and finance side of cryptocurrency. As there is a move towards a mainstream adoption of cryptocoins, women would be instrumental in this mass acceptance.
With women communicating the benefits of the blockchain, there may be more women willing to listen and look into investing themselves or as managers in companies that look to adopt to the changes by using cryptocurrency.
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