Move over Crypto Bros, it’s time to meet the women of Web3

When we think of the metaverse, what do we think of? For many, that’s the connotation of “crypto bro”: a man in his twenties who spends most of his time talking – often condescendingly – about the blockchain economy, making sure to tell you that you’re very late to the last crypto wave.

Thanks to the promises of get-rich-quick and the prospect of personal freedom, the metaverse has become the new standard bearer of internet success – as well as the web’s most male-dominated landscape. Only reported by Yahoo Finance 21 percent of crypto owners are women, with ownership of Bitcoin and Ethereum even lower at 15 percent and 20 percent. Even worse, only 5 percent of crypto companies are estimated to be led by women, making the sector more closed to change.

As Web3 continues to evolve, crypto communities have become just one part of a much larger ecosystem that encompasses everything from virtual real estate and gaming platforms to NFT collectives. But when it comes to gender representation, things haven’t gotten any more promising. According to a report from The Female Quotient and EWG Unlimited, it’s just staggering 19 percent of people who own digital currency identify as women. Three out of four women have heard of the metaverse, but only 30 percent are really familiar with it.

While Web3 has the potential to empower all demographics, these statistics—plus the fact that top tech and gaming companies like Epic Games and Meta are still run by men—show how great the imbalance remains. By recognizing the extent of gender differences across the terrain, Jing Daily explores the growing number of women pushing for change and diversity in Web3.

“When I started talking about digital clothing, most people thought I was crazy,” says Daniella Loftus, founder and CEO of Web3 platform Draup. “When they saw the clothes I wear on @thisoutfitdoesnotexist, they thought it was cool and exciting, but definitely not a mainstream trend or a sustainable business. I actually had an ex-boyfriend make a joke like ‘Oh, how much are you going to pay for that imaginary dress? An imaginary $1 million?’” While this may seem like an isolated experience, the unfortunate truth is that these types of comments are not uncommon.

Since rising from the niche, male-dominated corner of the internet to mainstream recognition, women in Web3 have had their virtual expertise and business ventures continually invalidated, despite demonstrating more than enough ability to build successful careers in the metaverse. Loftus started as a digital fashion content creator with a background in crypto and finance, and has now worked with digital clothing houses Tribute Brand and Auroboros. She recently received $1.5 million in seed funding for her startup, Draup, a platform that aims to match talented creators with fashion buyers and is backed by blockchain solutions group Ledger.

Earlier this year, it was estimated by CryptoTimes that it exists over 400 million monthly active users in the metaverse. This trajectory toward widespread adoption means more women are venturing into the metaverse than ever before, ultimately leading to more opportunity and visibility. But the landscape is still notoriously male-centric.

“In many conversations with women, I’ve found that the ‘crypto bro’ preconception seems to serve as an easy way to dismiss this perhaps scary and confusing new world of technology,” Jackie Courtney, self-confessed Web3 enthusiast and founder of Web3 incubator Qualia, says. With mindsets like these continuing to creep in, women in Web3 are still perceived by many as anomalies. After all, how are we expected to navigate an environment engineered to favor a specific brand of male success?

With little support or representation, one of the driving forces behind the introduction of excess demographics was to be able to provide a space for social connections. BFF, a community designed to educate women about crypto and navigate the web, was one of Web3’s first attempts to bring women into the metaverse, while cultivating a safe and fair community for those looking to explore the new landscape.

BFF, a female-founded NFT community, encourages more women and non-binary individuals to further invest in Web3. Photo: BFF

Courtney, who is also a member of BFF, believes that groups like these are vulnerable to ending up in the wider landscape of Web3. When she began to occupy a space in the digital world with Qualia, Courtney explains that the response she was met with was “kind of, ‘Oh great, you’re a women’s project. Lovely. Go over to the corner for little females for females.’ Almost a ‘that’s cute’ feeling, or a desire to support because I’m a woman, rather than because I’m building something that can occupy a larger space, incubate and fund things to compete on a global scale.”

The NFT collective World of Women is also fighting for more inclusion in the metaverse. The Hub’s first token drop of 10,000 PFPs sold out in 10 hours in 2021, and now the platform has partnered with The Fabricant to further leverage exposure and encourage more female-identifying individuals to explore Web3. “What World of Women and BFF have done brilliantly is to create projects that appeal to everyone in Web3 in a way that is inclusive, diverse, inspiring and fun, while consistently flying the flag for the women and non-binary communities they represent,” Michaela Larosse, founder and CEO of digital fashion channel The Fabricant, highlights. “We should be careful not to drop the ball on this and think ‘well, we’ve got that covered’ because of course there are a lot of people who have been consistently ignored in terms of representation in the tech space.”

Digital fashion platform The Fabricant teamed up with NFT collective World of Women for a 27-piece digital fashion collection. Photo: The factory

Despite the growing number of women-led societies, there is still much work to be done. A recent report from TrustRadius found that 78 percent of the women in technology, they feel they have to work harder than their co-workers to prove their worth. Yet women bring a number of powerful and essential advantages to the online world: one of the most important is diversity of perspective. “When I think about what women can bring to the Web3 landscape, it’s more the feminine energy, says Courtney. “A different way of thinking, collaborating and expressing that can also create space and freedom for men to express more of the feminine energy.”

Loftus agrees that a more varied attitude is essential. “These perspectives reflect the fact that almost 50 percent of the world is not male and has different interests and lived experiences,” she explains, highlighting the potential to open up new areas for creativity, innovation and change.

This culmination of support systems is a starting point, but a more holistic approach is needed to achieve a fully fledged metaverse that is fair to all – something that is not possible until more representation and areas of access are established. “Projects that enable anyone outside of tech’s usual demographic shouldn’t be seen as a niche problem,” says Lacrosse. “Everyone belongs in Web3 and we can iterate in a way that recognizes that fact right now, so let’s be intentional and actively build a future that doesn’t fall into the habits of the past.”

But the figures show that many women are still hesitant to explore. In August, crypto news channel CoinGeek conducted a study on the unique challenges faced by female pioneers in Web3; 33 percent of the respondents attached the virtual gender imbalance to “bro” culture is the biggest obstacle for women, with a lack of proper educational resources also poses a major challenge.

Altr_ recently announced that it was one of the companies selected to participate in Farfetch’s accelerator program, Dream Assembly Base Camp. Photo: Farfetch

In addition, risk assessment plays an important role in the introduction of Web3. “For most consumers who are not crypto-natives or Web3 enthusiasts, the value of intangible Web3 assets remains abstract and unwieldy,” Jessie Fu, founder of Altr_ – a digital fashion platform that was recently selected to participate in Farfetch’s Web3 accelerator program , Outlier Ventures – explains. “Women are usually more risk-averse than men for many other external social elements such as gender wage differences, social expectations, etc., rather than biological differences to men on risk investments.”

But like Altr_, women are using the digital fashion path to help encourage more women on board through shared interests that also resonate in the real world. But even in sectors that are often perceived as being positioned more towards women, such as fashion, there are still gender differences. When confronted with the news that Gucci had appointed a male head of Metaverse to oversee the house’s entire Web3 effort, metaverse expert Kelly Vero responded via LinkedIn, “Yay! Another guy responsible for the future of fashion. This is absolutely no news anymore. I can’t wait to see a woman in a prominent position like this in a fashion/Web3 company.” While luxury giant LVMH welcomed Nelly Mensah into the new role of head of Metaverse and Crypto earlier this year, the majority of business titans still appoint men to lead digital roadmaps – in turn setting a precedent for what the future of Web3’s top moguls will look like.

This lack of exposure and leadership opportunities can be explained by the deep-rooted sexism that continues to permeate businesses, both online and offline. And the challenges extend further than just within Western culture. Since Chinaverse rose to prominence, the majority of leaders in the space are, unsurprisingly, men. Something that the country’s female digital enthusiasts have begun to recognise. Web3 Women Union, a nationwide women’s group established earlier this year, regularly hosts discussion forums to explore why female presence in the Chinaverse is so sparse. From investment concerns to being tied to traditional roles and expectations like motherhood, the community brings to light the ongoing challenges that women in the Web3 world face every day.

So what can current and future users of the metaverse do to improve these pain points? Optics as virtue signaling or placing one woman as a figurehead for a company is not enough to achieve a well-rounded Web3 landscape. “The saying ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ was coined in reference to the lack of women in the tech industry, which is still an ongoing problem,” Lacrosse says Jing Daily. “I feel encouraged when I see women having visibility at the forefront of our world as the space is so nascent, so we can seize this incredible opportunity to create the Web3 we want to see.”

While change is on the horizon thanks to female leaders like Lablaco (co-founded by Eliana Kuo, a major tech player in the metaverse who uses her voice to push for ecological change) and DressX (one of the leading digital fashion wardrobes) working with the likes of Gap , Dundas and Meta), there is a resounding amount of work to be done. The early days of the metaverse may have been a man’s world, but the future of Web3 is for everyone.