I’ve had numerous conversations with women in the cryptocurrency industry discussing the gender bias we encounter. The common experiences we’ve shared have encouraged me to write about these issues publicly to let other women in the industry know that they are not alone. I want to create more awareness of these issues and start a discussion on the ways we can all work together to improve. We are building completely new global networks and financial systems so in order for them to be effective for everyone, we need to make sure that everyone is included. Gender is only one aspect of diversity and will be the focus of this post.

Common challenges

The following list contains interactions that I have personally experienced multiple times at crypto events and female colleagues have shared with me their experiences in facing these commons issues as well. Instances where a man:

introduces himself to the men in a group but ignores the women

makes eye contact with the men while speaking and ignores the women

asks a woman if she is a plus one at the event

acts surprised to discover a woman knows about cryptocurrencies

comments on the woman’s appearance rather than what she is saying

Note that these are also experiences that many women in the wider tech space and other male-dominant industries have to deal with, not just within the crypto industry (two great posts by Leila and Andy sharing their experience).

Things you can do

It’s important to recognize that this is a problem and work towards making improvements. Here are several things you can do to help:

If you notice a woman (or anyone) being disregarded, please make them feel included. This can be as simple as introducing someone if you noticed they were ignored or asking that person a question to bring them into the conversation (e.g. how they got interested in crypto, what are they excited about in the space).

This can be as simple as introducing someone if you noticed they were ignored or asking that person a question to bring them into the conversation (e.g. how they got interested in crypto, what are they excited about in the space). Call out someone when they are being blatantly sexist.

Increase diversity at crypto events. One awesome example I saw was that Blockstack Summit reserved discounted tickets for underrepresented groups. This was one of the only crypto events I attended where I actually had to wait for the women’s restroom (good thing)! It’s equally important to have a diverse representation of speakers at the event. There are many talented female speakers in crypto so it’s not a valid excuse to say there aren’t any.

This list is not nearly comprehensive so please feel free to share in the comments section your experience, ways to help out, and other women in the crypto space to follow (open for everyone to contribute).

Thanks to Sarah Hody, Andy Coravos, Will Warren, Jesse Pollak, and Anastasia for reviewing this post.