Women are underrepresented across the fintech industry, and the emerging realm of Web3 is no exception. There are many reasons for women to be both frustrated and inspired about the potential for increasing diverse representation in the crypto industry.
Alarming statistics from a Boston Consulting Group study earlier this year revealed that only 13% of Web3 startups are led by women founders, with just 3% having an all-women founding team. Furthermore, funding disparities are strikingly apparent. All-male teams raised nearly four times the funds raised by all-women teams, according to the BCG report. Additionally, women NFT artists face a concerning disparity, with only 5% of the money generated by NFT sales going to women artists over a period of 21 months, according to a complementary ArtTactic NFT art market report.
On the brighter side, many communities in the Web3 space are explicitly combating gender inequality. World of Women, founded by NFT artists Yam Karkai and Raphael Malavieille, is one such example focusing on empowering women through education. WoW’s programs aim to increase women’s representation and prevalence in the NFT art market. Another such community is UnicornDAO, an NFT project platform founded in 2022 by Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, plus crypto veterans John Caldwell and Rebecca Lamis. UnicornDAO’s mission revolves around funding women NFT artists and investing in LGBTQ+ NFT artists’ projects, paving the way for greater diversity across the industry.
