There exists a gender imbalance in the cryptocurrency world, with the number of women in the industry being significantly lower than the number of men. This environment, which is currently male-dominated, will not remain as such with many women already integrating it and allowing it to lift them up.
Bitcoin opens up a world of opportunities for women. It leaves them financially independent and creates the chance to acquire financial growth thanks to savings and investments.
Kumar Sharma (2018) demonstrated that there are a number of campaigns that use Bitcoin as a tool to promote social impact. One such campaign is the so-called “Decade of Women” campaign, which aims to make women’s lives better around the world by harnessing the potential of blockchain and digital asset-related emerging technologies.
As part of a decade-long series of projects and commitments to achieve gender equality and UN Sustainable Development Goal #5 by 2030, The Decade of Women was launched in New York on International Women’s Day in 2018. Women would benefit from increased access to online financial services and information in their struggle for independence.
Bitcoin helps establish personal governance over one’s assets, as well as helps empower women through collective collaboration. Blockchain technology is greatly influenced by collective intelligence. Open-source platforms are used to develop many projects, allowing anyone who has the skills to participate and contribute. Everyone has the same amount of opportunity.
As a matter of fact, it appears that women are more likely to develop blockchain solutions that are directly compatible with the community, corporate social responsibility, and economy. Indeed, the creation of the hashtag #satoshiisfemale to promote blockchain technology and female empowerment has sparked a feminist movement in the crypto industry. Open-source platforms encourage women innovators to get involved and collaborate, through which they shine as individuals. These platforms that are being created are designed to return power to the individual.
Simply put, neither the law nor social norms can be altered by blockchain. However, it has the potential to transform into a tool for empowering minorities and women all over the world. In countries where women have rights but lack the infrastructure to exercise them, blockchain is providing them with economic opportunity. Blockchain eventually gives women a chance to lead innovation in today’s world.
The blockchain industry, like STEM fields, is still dominated by men in terms of developers, business owners, and even users. Women are underrepresented in one of the biggest technology industries. However, as more women enter the blockchain industry, the gender gap is narrowing, and this is about to change slowly but surely.
Meltem Demirors of Digital Currency Group stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the blockchain industry’s “sands are shifting.” More and more women are now investing in, incorporating, and inventing this technology. Women working in blockchain are changing the perception that technology is a boys-only industry, which bodes well for the future.
In addition, because blockchain technology removes the need for a third-party benefactor, it also allows the creation of new types of self-governance and relationships based on the transparency of the interactions. It allows women to have personal financial independence and complete control over their own assets. Women are being freed from any financial gender gap by blockchain technology since they now have access to a personal digital identification store that can be accessed from any location at any time thanks to Blockchain’s capacity to store personal records in a secure and cost-effective manner.
In turn, women might be able to take advantage of job opportunities in the formal economy or own land and bank accounts if they had complete ownership of digital IDs. Bitcoin is slowly being recognized by many as an inflation hedge and is deemed a great store of value.
Women now have a unique chance to influence the future of this revolutionary business, as well as their own lives and the lives of others they inspire. The Bitcoin world is in constant evolution and will transform a lot of sectors in the upcoming years. Women will play a significant role in this transformation the moment they obtain a bigger understanding of the concept. Blockchain would make it possible for banking and payment transactions to take place without the need for a third-party intermediary because the technology is based on peer-to-peer transactions.
Additionally, opening a cryptocurrency wallet is free, removing a significant barrier for many women, who are less likely than men to be able to afford maintenance fees. Women’s overrepresentation in informal and part-time employment typically results in these maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. As a result, the disruptive nature of blockchain holds enormous promise for financial independence for women.
According to Kamath (2018), “Blockchain’s potential lies from digitizing an archaic paper-based disparate system that is tamper prone, alterable, easy to lose, spread across different parties and individuals, lacking a universal time log or recording system, to a modern digitized one-stop shop enabling trusted and verifiable records. For women, this can be the difference between life and death.” The ability of technological advancement to address numerous disadvantages faced by women, including knowledge and information, reproductive health, infrastructure, livelihoods, mobility, and communication, is a significant advantage.
Women typically play a crucial role in managing transactions, contributing to the family’s income, and taking care of the household’s finances, but they typically lack economic empowerment and financial inclusion.
The barrier to entry is knowledge, which is why the emphasis should be on education first and foremost. It is when Bitcoin is correctly conceptualized and fully understood that it can become a space to invest in. The first step is understanding what it is, and the big step is determining the level of investment and becoming aware and at ease with its volatility.
Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin specifically will then be regarded as a way to gain further financial independence, make money or preserve wealth by a larger number of women.
