The Gender "Problem" In Bitcoin (And Tech Generally): Thoughts About Complaints On Twitter
I've spent a little time in the actual tech world, having studied code in Seattle for the past few months, so I know a thing or two about how the culture in technology is treating the issue of gender representation.
Tech is OBSESSED with gender equality
I see it everywhere.
Every company, from small to huge, is being as proactive as they possibly can be about this perceived problem.
There are hiring quotas for women, scholarship and aid programs for women only, meet ups exclusive to women, etc. And there's a very active push for culture change to embrace and lift up as many women as possible.
So when I see things like this, I have to wonder....
This Tweet is from Laura Shin, who describes herself thusly:
Wow!!
She seems like an extremely prominent and important person in the Bitcoin space! I wonder why she didn't lead a discussion...
What's the issue?
Well, in an industry that is clamoring so hard to include women in everything, I have to think that the reason there are no female speakers at this event is because... NO WOMEN WANTED TO DO IT.
Which is why I replied with this:
The thing is, if Laura HAD tried to get a speaking gig and the administrators told her no because she's a woman, I would be outraged, and I'd make my outrage known.
But if it's the case that no women decided that they wanted to lead any workshops at this event.... Uh, well, with whom are we supposed to be mad?
If I have a job, and the only people that apply are black, guess what? I'm going to hire a black person. Does that mean I'm being racist to white people? Of course not.
And this is exactly what's happening in tech.
For whatever reason -- despite the fact that companies are desperately trying to hire and train them -- women are not flooding into tech. It's hard to find young girls that are interested in STEM, even if you offer them glorious grants and financial aid to do so.
The interest just isn't there.
The double-standard
One thing that bugs me is how people will complain about women in tech because -- lets face it -- tech jobs are NICE.
You get to sit in an office with air-conditioning and catered birthday parties.
Compare this to, say, the gender "problem" in oil rigging or crab fishing.
Look at any oil rig or crab fishing boat and what will you see? 100% men. Exclusively. So why is it that we don't hear people complaining about these jobs being completely dominated by men?
Answer: because the jobs suck.
They are highly physically demanding, very dangerous, disgusting and filthy, and ungodly long hours.
Most men don't want to do these jobs. And no women want to do these jobs. But do you ever hear anyone complaining that it's a problem?
I know I don't.
Conclusion
Tech is working overtime to include women. If you are qualified women and notice that there are no women leading workshops at a Bitcoin event -- YOU GO AND LEAD ONE.
Otherwise, the problem isn't that there's a bunch of biggest -- the problem is that not enough of the people that you want to see represented want to be represented themselves.
Tell me what you think
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This is a lively issue with a lot of strong opinions. But what do you think about what I've said? And what are your views on the topic?
Truth is men tend to have more bitcoin knowledge though i stand to be corrected, however a few women are starting to stand up.
Tech industries are stressful and filled with complicated math and problem solving skills that are much better suited for the Male brain.
It's really that simple. It's just like saying women are better suited to care for babies because nature gave them the tools necessary to sustain life.
With that being said I've personally worked with some excellent women on technical projects that required them to be just as knowledgeable as the men but those women are the exception to the norm. Having a workforce that is 50% men and 50% women just isn't a realistic for all professions and these tech companies just need to focus on making stuff rather than who's making it.
Coming from the science part of STEM, I have been to plenty of lectures and panels and we have a good mix of genders, over the past decade. BUT this is deceiving of the those actually do the jobs.
And as far as bitcoin goes, there are new hurdles. Now you are talking about a "IT crowd" type culture. There is more to this issue than just "lead one".
The political and cultural cost of hosting an event that is not even attended by your peers can make or break a career. The woman have to be brave enough to put thei names out there and get the invites first.
Yeah, I don't know about it being that big of a cost to take a step and lead a workshop. I mean, if you really think you have something to contribute, then what's there to be worried about? Positioning is important, of course, but that goes more or less without saying -- doesn't really have anything to do with gender.
If it's going to happen, it has to start somewhere. And what's the alternative, really? Don't encourage women to lead workshops?
I can definitely see what you mean. In my own little bubble of a world, it is the men who are mega interested in Steemit and crypto.
And I don't fully understand why.
Is it because women lean more towards stability?
Is it because there aren't enough initiatives that encourage women to be part of this online space?
What I've noticed is that women don't understand what crypto or steemit is. And they don't really want to understand it either it feels like.
Plus, and this is something that I see within myself aswell.
The whole talk of buying and selling steem is pretty overwhelming.
I am on steemit.chat and they're talking about trading crypto and the women in the room are just not getting it. We just did not understand it.
( So if there's anyone out there that would like to take the time to explain it to me in depth, I'd be a very happy lady! :) )
So I think there are several hurdles here that make it 'unattractive' for women to step up into the crypto world.
Maybe the marketing isn't 'sexy' enough for women?
Maybe the way it is talked about needs to change for it to be more accesible to women?
I don't know.
But all I do know is that I'd love for more women to be involved and this is something I am actively working on!
Thank you for your enlightening post!
I really feel like you are the FIRST one to really bring it to light!
:)
I can't say I'm an expert on this, but I believe there's a gender specification for risk v stability.
This is something you can see everywhere: men take more risks whereas women strive for stability. You see it in parenting: the father will let the kids play free and get hurt because "they'll learn something from it", while the mother is worried about the kids safety. It's a complimentary difference, because both traits are necessary.
Cryptos are nothing if not risky, so it makes sense that it would be dominated by men (at least at first). As more security measures are built and established bodies start to dip their hands in, we will see more women enter the field.
Had a bigger think about this and I think the answer lies in organic growth of female participation by targeted introductionary actions.
Or atleast that's what I think anyway.
Get talking to women in women language in a way that they will fully understand it and will become enthiusiastic.
I'm a girl and I'm obsessed with crypto... so we are definitely out there!
But not that many women are programmers in the first place, and not all programmers are cut out for blockchain, so you end up with a small percentage of a small percentage that might be female.
Additionally I think that blockchain in particular requires an indepth knowledge of advanced mathematics, logic and game theory - fields that are traditionally most appealing to men and you'll find few female experts in these fields.
So it doesn't surprise me that few women are into blockchain development currently.
However, I do think that when a company comes across those select few women that are, they should pay particular attention because those would be outside of the norm - and worth watching/investing in because of it.