In a recent interview with CoinTelegraph, blockchain and digital assets lawyer, Joni Pirovich, very matter of factly told the digital media site that when it comes to meetings with her clients and work colleagues, she is “Used to being the only woman in the room.”

While she accepts that this is just an aspect of her job, she went on to add, “In some ways, it's been a real struggle to have my voice heard, to be seen as a legitimate person at the table that has views worth listening to — let alone respecting or following.”

Joni Pirovich’s sentiments shouldn’t come as a surprise. If anything, they further back up the evidence that in the crypto world, women are the minority.

The Statistics

Back in August 2021, CNBC sent out a survey asking how people invested their money. In the category of cryptocurrency, the results were as follows:

• Of the 23% of respondents who invested in crypto, only 30.5% were women compared to 69.5% men

A second company called Finder, surveyed 47,000 people across 27 countries in June 2021 and found:

• On average, 22% of men own cryptocurrency, but only 15% of women own cryptocurrency 
• Men made up the majority in all 27 countries

Cryptocurrency: the Crossroad Between Finance and Tech

Cryptocurrencies have always been the crossroad between finance and tech, two industries that have famously been plagued by gender disparity since the beginning. And even in our more progressive world, women are still falling far behind.

In the finance industry:

• Women and men are roughly equally split at entry-level positions, but the number of women declines with each step up the ladder
• Women encompass 53% of the entry-level banking workforce but less than one-third at the SVP and C-suite levels

In the tech industry:

• It’s estimated that only 25% of jobs are filled by women, which is even lower than it was back in the 80s
• Half of the young women who go into tech drop out by the age of 35 meaning older women in tech become more and more isolated

With such large gaps in gender within these two sectors, it stands to reason that there would be similar gaps in the cryptocurrency and even NFT spaces as well.

Unfortunately, while it’s not every man, it’s not uncommon for women who work in tech, finance or are involved in the crypto community to have to put up with harassing or patronizing comments.

A few months ago, software engineer, Chloe Condon, Tweeted the following:

“Some of you have never had to schedule dedicated time each month in your calendar to remove all the "nice boobs"/"she's cute"/"can she actually code?"/"get back in the kitchen" comments from your technical videos on YouTube, and honestly? It shows.”

While this is just one experience from one woman, (although there are thousands more out there we could quote or you could find) how many men have ever had to experience these kinds of condescending and disrespectful comments even once? Zero.

The Cycle of Doubt

In addition to the stream of unwanted comments, women also face another issue. When any person wants to become part of any industry or any community, it can feel daunting at first. Especially if they are going in with not much experience.

However, one of two things will happen.

One: the person is treated with respect, they are able to ask questions, learn, and grow their knowledge over time.

Two: they will be made to feel unwelcome, they will doubt their abilities, become too self-conscious to ask questions through fear of ridicule, struggle to advance their knowledge, and be left with even more self-doubt as they grapple to learn from those who make it as difficult as possible.

The second option leaves someone in a cycle of doubt. They know they don’t know enough but can’t make progress because they have been made to feel like they're not worthy of learning.

The operations and membership manager at Blockchain Australia, Amy-Rose Goodey, commented on the topic,

“The statement ‘women are risk averse’ has continued to circulate as the primary reason women do not invest in crypto. In my experience, this is not the case. Women are very keen to invest but do not feel confident in going through the process to buy.

Women are more anxious about not knowing how to buy Bitcoin rather than losing the initial investment, it appears to be more a question of confidence rather than risk aversion.”

Emilie Wright, the founder of PULSE, a charity-focused and women-led NFT project further added to this thought in an interview with CoinTelegraph saying,

“My experience, as a woman, is that it is harder to occupy that space, and if you push for it you are often met with questions about how deserving you are of it or your credibility. If I were a man, I would probably feel more accepted, doubt myself less, and feel less of an imposter in the space.”

This cycle of doubt constantly pushes women back down and even scares many away completely. Between the doubt, the harassment, and the name-calling, it’s no wonder that, globally, women are less than half as likely as a man to invest in crypto.

Support from Men Is Essential

In the cryptocurrency world, men are the dominant gender. And although there are women who are actively trying to change this and equal the playing field, it’s going to take help from men as well to make it happen faster.

And some are. Scott Melker, host of ‘The Wolf Of All Streets Podcast’, and leader in Bitcoin and crypto recently said,

“There is an incredible amount of sexism and discrimination in this space. I could not imagine being a woman in crypto - they take an incredible amount of undeserved criticism and are rarely taken as seriously as their male counterparts. This needs to stop.”

This is exactly the kind of vocal support women need and at a faster pace than it’s currently happening.

Are Women Welcome?

So, The Crypto Boys’ Club: Are Women Welcome? Well, right now, women are welcome but only in the way that kids are welcome at weddings. They can come but plenty of people in the room will have something to say about it.

And since women are educated adults with just as much right and knowledge to occupy the same spaces as men, it’s time that certain men grow up and stop calling them names in the hopes they’ll give up and leave.

It’s 2022 and the boys’ club is no longer cool.

Everyone Is Welcome at Mining Syndicate

At Mining Syndicate we are constantly striving to be part of the positives changes for women in crypto. We are building a company and a community that excludes no one.

Right now, nearly 50% of our staff are women, working together across the US and the world to keep Mining Syndicate at the forefront of the industry. The women who work here do so because they’re awesome at their jobs not just to tick a box. We are passionate about equality and don’t just say but do!

Join the Largest Mining Pool in Texas from Anywhere in the World

At Mining Syndicate, we offer Bitcoin investment solutions for everyone - including women! Our mining pools are for the experienced and the inexperienced and our friendly team is always on hand to offer exactly the kind of support you need - whoever you are, wherever you are!

If you would like any more information about starting or expanding your Bitcoin horizon; reach out to us at Mining Syndicate. Our mission is simple: Strengthen the Bitcoin network by enabling small-scale miners to affordably purchase and reliably host miners.

As a small miner, Chris became frustrated by the lack of hosting options available for miners with under 100 units. As luck would have it, he found a 2.5MW mining facility for sale right down the road, and thus, Mining Syndicate was born. Facilities #2 and #3 are currently launching and #4 and #5 are in the works.

Why is Mining Syndicate so successful? Because we have a team of people who are just like you, eager to be a part of the future of mining. If you would like more information about how you can be a part of Mining Syndicate, how our facility works, or the products we sell, you can reach out to us here.

You can also check out our list of miners we currently have in our catalog, as well as our list of best sellers.

Join our mining pool and be part of the future together!