With the Crypto VC booming, it’s time to close the gender gap on Web3 – The Defiant

A trickle has become a torrent in crypto venture capital. Despite rapid inflation and a good market, VC investment in blockchain reached $ 10 billion worldwide in the first quarter of this year. This is the largest quarterly sum ever, more than double the one year ago.

And yet, even if investors push for crypto projects, women will not benefit from the fundraising. Less than 5% of crypto founders and less than 10% of crypto fund partners are women. And the numbers aren’t improving.

As one of the few women financing the crypto project, I can tell you that the gap in this diversity is evident in my daily routine. For example, one of the 50 or so DeFi startups I’ve talked to was a woman founder. This gender slant is now baked in the blockchain – both in terms of funding and establishment – it will take many years to undo.

Discussing funding from the boardroom, I’m always dealing with men. In fact, it’s actually a shock when I’m interested in a project led by a woman founder.

So we have to work now before it’s too late. Now is the time for the industry to establish a practice that brings women downstairs. Instead of lip service, codes need to be implemented and standards set for diversity. Let’s learn from the mistakes of the technology sector and integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies into Web3.

What is lost in numbers

Web 3 repeats how under-represented women are. Statistics reflect the reality that women are almost always absent from big decisions in our industry. Whether funding or founding, there are almost always men who create startups and men who support them.

Sadly, I am now accustomed to this extreme gender division. Discussing funding from the boardroom, I’m always dealing with men. In fact, it’s actually a shock when I’m interested in a project led by a woman founder.

And yet, the more money that enters the space, the harder it is to close this gap without taking quick action. As things stand, women will miss the impending boom and metavers of the virtual economy. Conversely, the industry will also feel our absence. Web3 will lose superior innovation and creativity as evidenced by greater diversity. It doesn’t have to be this way – and the good news is – it doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s time for industry standards and quotas

Of course, bringing women into funding and establishing funnels will require more than good intentions. Web3 must set industry standards and ensure that they are met.

Public companies, for example, face ongoing investor pressure to improve diversification in their managerial positions, which emphasizes greater awareness of the need to address ESG issues. And the reason is more than “diversity.” A groundbreaking study by S&P Global Market Intelligence found that companies with female CFOs are more profitable and have higher stock price performance than the market average. The study also found that companies with higher gender diversity on their board of directors are more profitable and larger than companies with lower gender diversity.

Now is the time: Web3 will certainly do well in its promise of inclusion

On Web3, meanwhile, gender quotas and diversity values ​​do not exist. Furthermore, the vast majority of crypto funds do not calculate the minimum investment threshold to support different founders. In short, there is no code to protect or encourage women in our place. This change is needed. At the very least, we need industry quotas to accommodate more women and increase our numbers over time.

There is a growing movement in Web 3 to address these issues. It is a pleasure to see the gathering of community members to close the gap. From education initiatives to guilds, there has been a real effort to educate women and ensure that they are not left out of the Web3 Gold Rush.

A good example Tri Crypto, An included community of creators who want to make crypto more gender-balanced. At the same time, though, it is increasingly clear that big changes must come from the top. Whether it is achieved with internally agreed minimum standards or externally with regulators, there must be a binding function to ensure evolution.

Diversity is a force

As the larger business world demonstrates, quotas of diversity can work. California law requires some publicly traded companies to include women on their boards, more than doubling the total number of women-occupied boards in the state. Quotas, but only a part of the solution. The introduction of any rule must bring about a genuine desire for change.

Web3 must acknowledge the lack of female leadership and incorporate more diverse voices into the table. Instead of being forced by the mandate, our new sector must recognize that diversity is a force and a fight for inclusion. And unlike the larger technology sector, which is still fighting for gender equality after many years, Web3 has a unique opportunity to change before it’s too late.

Our community must remember that technology is more than a product. Technology tells a story, connects ideas and enables change Without women, I’m afraid web3 products will only tell one side of the story. Similarly, without real integration, web3 would lack the perspective of female end users.

For women looking outwards, my advice is not too late to start Web3. You do not have to have money to participate. Instead, you need a desire to learn, a support system to grow and a drive to be different. Scholarships and internships are vital to this goal, as is the diversified structure for project funding and establishment. See this place.

Lee Gang This partner UB Capital .

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