Tech has always been a sector that has been cis male dominated. However, as we shift towards a Web 3.0 environment, women have taken the initiative to change this.

A recent report by global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, explores how people think about Web3 as a career option. The report highlights that female Web3 professionals are generally more active career-wise than their male counterparts, with 60% of surveyed female professionals recognizing their unique values in facilitating better culture in Web3 communities. However, 33% of them mention the “bro” culture as a challenge of working in Web3; stopping women from initiating as many projects as their male counterparts.

Despite these challenges, women are making their mark in the Web3 space as developers and entrepreneurs. There’s a group of women taking up their pickaxes and heaving them into the fertile new internet. They’re creating incentives to draw more women to Web3, so they can have a say in the next web.

Female leaders in Web 3.0

Theresia Le Battistin, CEO, Fashion League

Fashion League is a free, play-to-earn mobile game that allows users to develop their own fashion empire. The game allows users to create virtual clothing lines that could eventually be sold as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, while brands can leverage the game to display digital products.

“We believe that everything will be gamified in the future, as our statistics have found that the gaming market will exceed $300 billion by 2027. Web3 games need to be inclusive.” Theresia Le Battistin, CEO

Fashion League encourages individuals to create digital items, which can eventually evolve into sellable NFTs. “We are enabling the creator economy through a fun game. The more users play, the more points they can earn. In-game cash can then be exchanged for tokens that can be converted to fiat,” she said. Chavez Li, Fashion League Advisory Board.

Brit Morin & Jamie Schmith, Co-Founders, BFF

BFF, is a community that is designed to teach women how to get in on the crypto boom. It is led by Brit Morin, a former Googler and the founder of women’s media brand Brit + Co. She co-founded this new community for the “crypto curious” with a list of 50-plus celebrities (Tyra Banks, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Mila Kunis), technologists, and entrepreneurs.

Through BFF, Morin and Schmidt are ensuring that women and non-binary people don’t miss the chance to take a seat at the table and benefit from the wealth that will come from Web3. One of their big goals is to confront and correct the limiting beliefs that are keeping women and non-binary people from venturing into crypto

Olayinka Odeniran, Founder and Chairwoman, Black Women Blockchain Council

Launched in 2018, Black Women Blockchain Council aims to create a safe space that inspires, trains and activates a talent and economic pipeline of black women pursuing professional and entrepreneurial careers in blockchain and fintech; including inspiring and educating the next generation of diverse and inclusive blockchain leaders.

Teaming up with ConsenSys, they are launching a global joint initiative next year, with the ambitious objective to drastically increase the number of black women blockchain developers, empowering half a million of them around the world by 2030.

This initiative directly contributes to five of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): gender equality (SDG 5), education (SDG 4), entrepreneurship (SDG 8), innovation (SDG 9) and social inclusion (SDG 10).

“Such innovative technology has historically not been maximized within black communities. We’re changing that pattern for this wave of tech.” Olayinka Odeniran

The timing of these ventures is propitious. In November, art market research firm ArtTactic noted that only 16% of NFT sales were going to female artists (the stats for non-white women were even more dismal). On NiftyGateway, an NFT marketplace owned by the Winklevoss twins, less than 4% of the artworks come from artists in Africa, less than 2.5% comes from Latin America, and less than 1% comes from artists in the Near East, the report says.

Learnings from women to future Web 3.0 enthusiasts

Despite women’s achievements in the tech space over the last decade, there is still a really long road until full inclusion reaches Web 3.0.

Here are three learnings from some of the women of Web3 that have inspired others and are actively shaping its more equitable future.

1. Leaders lift up future leaders.

Lisa Mayer is a prominent advocate for gender equity in the still male-dominated NFT space. Advocating for and supporting young women and working mums, she’s paving the way for a more inclusive digital reality through dedicated scholarships and mentorship programs for women pursuing a future in technology, leadership and the creative space.

Leading by example means demonstrating the necessity for the leaders of today to guide and empower the leaders of tomorrow — and to recognize that future leaders come from all walks of life.

2. Representation isn’t a plus, it’s the bare minimum

As co-founder of Metapoly, Cindy Jin is intent on designing a metaverse space that returns power to the people. A career move took her from fashion and e-commerce to cryptocurrency and metaverse design. She fights for everyday citizens (no matter their gender) to own digital assets rather than having corporate investors dominate the space.

A metaverse defined by racial and gender equity and committed to fair representation across sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture should be a given. Jin’s mission and example show us how vital it is to remind older generations that they have something to learn from younger generations who are more open to embracing new technologies.

Read our blog on how the Metaverse is helping the LGBTQ+ community

3. If you have a microphone, use it to promote inclusion.

It should come as no surprise that Reese Witherspoon champions women working in the metaverse, cryptocurrency and digital art projects. The actor, producer and entrepreneur has been an active voice across Web3 spaces, integrating women-led NFT projects into her media company Hello Sunshine. She has become arguably the most famous woman advocating for NFT, Web3 and cryptocurrency projects, particularly as they concern gender equity.

She promotes the work of digital artists alongside the projects themselves, centering women artists in her efforts. Advocates at all levels of visibility, stand to take a cue from Witherspoon in platforming both projects they believe in and the brains and hearts behind those projects.

Aurora, started with a shared mission by two female founders – we want to share our ambition for this new era of technology with you. Meet the team to be part of the revolution.