The blockchain industry is sexist and still sucks at diversity Posted on : Feb 18 - 2019

Diversity is a term that’s thrown about often, and sometimes rather vacuously, but the fact of the matter is that the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency industries need more of it.

According to Statista, female employees make up between 26 percent (Microsoft) and 43 percent (Netflix) of the workforce at major technology firms – unsurprisingly the numbers drop further when it comes to jobs where technology is a core function.

These stats are disheartening, but the problem is felt more acutely in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector, where most studies show female participation is abysmally low.

From experience, cryptocurrency and blockchain conferences usually entail walking into a room full of white men. Hardly surprising, given that 85 percent of employees at recently launched blockchain startups were male.

This is not what blockchain is about

On an ideological level, cryptocurrency and blockchain emerged not only to circumvent mainstream finance but also to democratize society and bring about greater equality and transparency.

In theory, the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector allows us to participate in a way that no technology nor industry has done before.

Participation is pseudo-anonymous. Participants can contribute to the technology through mining, set up a digital wallet, or invest in the market without anyone, anywhere knowing who or where they are.

So, why is it that 10 years after Bitcoin first burst on the scene, the industry is still desperately lacking diversity and displaying clear signs of sexism?

The data

Understanding blockchain technology and accessing cryptocurrencies are the main entry barriers for industry participants regardless of gender, or background, etc.

But, if we take a closer look at workforces across the sector, we come across noticeable discrepancies between males and females.

A study by Longhash, which looked at blockchain‘s gender divide, found that there were fewer female team members, executives, and advisors.

Only 14.5 percent of blockchain startup team members were women. This worsened when analysts examined leadership positions, where females held 7 percent of roles. For advisors, the number stood at 8 percent.

Although merely indicative – the authors of the study highlighted a few methodological shortcomings – the data helps us get a clearer picture of the industry, but not without its issues. View More