An article from Yahoo News explores gender inequality in cryptocurrency. Crypto has already changed “the way we look at money,” as the author points out—perhaps it’s time we look at how we view men and women in this space.
The writer looks at a study of cryptocurrency usage by gender, focusing on Bitcoin—and while the number of overall Bitcoin users continues to grow, far fewer women are involved. This is attributable to several factors, many of which are common to inequalities in any tech industry endeavor; such as a hostile culture and sexist barriers to entry including dismissive attitudes, exclusion and harassment. Many women in the crypto space don’t even speak up about being women.
And that’s part of the problem, but also where we can make the most gains. The author argues that women’s participation, in addition to being a boon for the women involved, will help the crypto industry—and not only in numbers. Whatever you think of the assertions of women’s “natural” abilities, the fact remains that they usually have different life experiences, and so can bring a whole new type of expertise to the table.
And probably the most important point: The more women enter crypto, the more women will enter crypto. With women role models inspiring with their successes and teaching through their experience, a generation of women can be central in transforming the financial space.
By Pauline Farris, Yahoo News
The world of cryptocurrency has changed the way we look at money. Only two decades ago it was hard to imagine that you could invest money in something that you cannot even hold in your hands. But recently, Bitcoin has created such a stir and has become such a debated topic that everyone wants to get a piece of it.
However, not everything is so sunny and optimistic in the world of crypto. Recently, more and more people started to talk about gender equality issues.
But how many people are associated with Bitcoin?
According to a Cambridge University study, there are up to 6 million active Bitcoin users. This data was collected over the year of 2017 but the number of active Bitcoin users is continuously growing. The study only covers active Bitcoin users and does not include those who are only Bitcoin holders.
Among all those active Bitcoin users and traders, only 8.5 percent are female, as opposed to 91.5 percent of male users. This number is what has triggered the problem of gender equality in this sphere. This makes us think: Is the crypto world a playground only for boys? Why do so few women invest in Bitcoin? And is Bitcoin’s gender divide a good sign? Let’s find out.
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