The fourth day of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) saw major discussion around the role of women in Web3 and how they can create an inclusive decentralized ecosystem.
In a historic panel at the WEF Initiative this week, Kristina Cornêr moderated a session titled "Why Web3 Needs Women At The Forefront". She was joined by Meta vice president Nicola Mendelsohn, Global Blockchain Business Council CEO Sandra Ro, Harvard Business School's Sarah Endline, and Splunk government relations head Bill Wright.
They discussed how diverse perspectives are needed for progress on blockchain technology which has been heavily male-focused so far. The future of web3 is female-led, and it's something we should all be paying attention to. The panelists pointed out how important their presence in this space will continue for years and into the next decade as well!
The panelists highlighted the contribution of key female representatives in this new and emerging space. Mendelsohn quipped that Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto, who remains pseudonymous could very well be a woman; she explained:
"I will give you one very good example: Satoshi Nakamoto. I mean, we all assume it's a man, right? Is that our bias? It's just a name – it could well be a woman."
Cornèr believes that the people behind Bitcoin are both men and women, rather than one individual.
The discussion turned to the challenges that women face today and things that could be improved. Ro highlighted a growing contribution from Women in the nonfungible token (NFT) space, as well as raised concerns over the lack of female crypto traders.
She stressed the need to create a "safe and supportive" environment for women crypto traders.
As the only male panelist, Wright believes Web3 and blockchain space are inclusive by nature. He said:
"I think Web3 by nature aims to be an inclusive environment, and more diverse people involved would result in better outcomes. By research, it has been proven that diverse groups focused on a problem will come up with a better solution."
The panelists agreed that the decentralized world has seen an increase in female representation over time and they hope to see this continue.