Women in Web3 are the key to driving a healthy culture, growth and adoption

A toast to all women in the Web3 and the ICP ecosystem and a special grant announcement.

“Community” is probably the first word that comes to mind when talking about Web3. However, in the Web3 world, the “bro” culture within communities is one of the biggest challenges in making it inclusive for women. According to a recent survey done by Kucoin, 33% of women professionals mention this as a challenge and 60% feel they can facilitate a better culture in the Web3 workplace and communities.

Moreover, 38% of the women in the survey expressed that a lack of women-led communities is a barrier. Indeed, the industry needs more support systems and communities like those being created by the Women-Led Web3 Summit in Miami to make resources easily available for women developers and entrepreneurs in the Web3 space. Blockchain protocols and ecosystems should also encourage and welcome women as leaders of Web3 projects and businesses (as per the survey, only 27% of women have started their own projects, compared to 41% of men).

On the Internet Computer (ICP), women are making huge contributions across the board — be it in R&D, building dapps, or curating communities. Here’s what some star women of the ICP ecosystem feel about being a part of the ecosystem.

Bernie Snell: Founder, Signals dapp — “I got into Web3 because I wanted to be an active participant in building the future, not just a passive observer watching it being built around me. I think we have a huge opportunity to re-think the processes and systems which govern our lives …I love the technology, but I don’t believe it’s inherently “good” or “bad”, it’s just what you make of it — which is why I think it’s so important that women are part of that conversation in determining ‘what’ gets made. In general, my experience in Web3 and ICP has been amazing — the community is incredibly welcoming and willing to support new projects. I’ve found that there is already much more diversity than you might expect and a lot of solidarity between people in the space. The hardest thing I think is working against people’s more subtle biases ..the only way to challenge these stereotypes, though, is to shatter people’s expectations by being in the room, by learning the tech and being part of building the future.”

Hyuna K — Editor-in-Chief, DfinityCommunity — “As someone who’s been active in crypto and in anonymous groups for many years, I’ve never strongly asserted my gender online. I still don’t think metaspace identities are very relevant in digital spaces, but I am very grateful for the extra opportunities given to me because Web3 groups go above and beyond to be inclusive. ICP has been a great learning environment for me, especially with regards to opening up and connecting to people on deeper, more personal levels.”

Aisling Connolly: Senior Research Scientist, DFINITY Foundation — “There are an awesome bunch of badass women in this industry, and while this is great, I still feel that we have to shout too much to be heard. We still need to barge into the conversation and we still need to list our credentials to overcome doubt when discussing technical topics. It’s not a ‘men vs women’ thing, it’s that the prevailing attitude in the tech industry is a very ‘Tech Bro Compete to WIN’ thing, which doesn’t really favor the gentler and more caring voices. In a web3 world, where we pull together science, tech, business, economics, politics, sociology, and more, it’s imperative that we all make space for a diverse set of voices, in everyday conversation, and in everyday decisions.”

The ICP ecosystem is growing every day and so are the women involved. To spread the word further, Fastblocks — powered by the Internet Computer is the official media partner at Women-Led Web3 Summit, Miami. It is supported by participation from DFINITY and dapps like Signals , Origyn Foundation, and Distrikt, which are led by women leaders.

Special Grant for Women Developers and Entrepreneurs

DFINITY Foundation recognizes the need to provide special resources for women developers and is announcing targeted Developer Grants of up to $100K for Women Developers and entrepreneurs along with a FastTrack process. This is aimed at encouraging women builders to join the ecosystem and give them easier access to resources.

Join the movement!

Women in Web3 are the key to driving a healthy culture, growth and adoption was originally published in The Internet Computer Review on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.