From Margins to Mainstream: Women's Empowerment in the Digital Era

“History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done.”

-Sydney J. Harris (1986). “Clearing the ground”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

We stand in front of a tree, arguing that the forest is safe, oblivious to the rampant deforestation until that is the only tree left. At times we live dormant during the revolution, for we are content with others taking charge, but how often do the “others” turn out the same, or even worse, than the dominators? Similar is the case with the exclusion of women in the tech revolution. We continue to be oblivious to the lessons from the past, only looking at the tree presented to us and ignoring the exclusionary standards being set once again.

Exploring the Context

The revolution I am referring to is the web3 and metaverse shift. Web 3.0 is the new internet, focusing on decentralization and giving power and ownership to the users. The Metaverse is the virtual world that is supposed to be built on Web 3.0 and provide a free and equal online world to all. It is currently embroiled in a power struggle between those who want an Open Metaverse and those who want to commercialize it in closed metaverses. The latter side seems more dominant, with the metaverse associated with Facebook’s Meta, Decentraland, Roblox, etc.

Commercialization is not the primary concern, but the main problem lies with the tech industry's diversity issues and biases that follow into the metaverse. With the people trying to control the metaverse being the same ones who led Web 2.0 into a system of prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion, history is almost sure to repeat itself. As Ronald Wright said, “Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up."

The Trend

The tech industry has abysmal diversity numbers, particularly regarding gender diversity. Despite women making up 49.5% of the world’s population, they only hold 26.7% of tech-related jobs. Only 8.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are female, while female-only start-ups receive as little as 2% of investment capital each year. Additionally, the number of women in the tech industry decreased by 2.1% between 2020 and 2021. With this, you can observe that the playing field is certainly not level for women in the tech industry, and that pattern is now following into the metaverse.

The fact that there is a gender gap in organizations that aim to create the "framework" for the metaverse indicates that the same biases will also be present in the framework. For example, the Open Metaverse Alliance for Web 3.0 and the Metaverse Standards Forum are examples of such bodies, with only 8-10% of member organizations being led by female executives. In December 2021, out of the 121 listed founders of crypto’s big names, only 5 were female. Hence, Web 3.0 and the metaverse have also been locking out women.

Women Are More Active in the Metaverse

Despite this, women are more active in the metaverse. As per McKinsey, 41% of women, compared to 34% of men, participated in or used a primary metaverse or digital world. Additionally, only 29% of men are power users, compared to 35% of the women surveyed. 60% of 450 female executives claim to have implemented more than two initiatives relating to the metaverse.

Compared to men, they are 20% more likely to carry out a variety of metaverse-related efforts. In addition, 49% of professional women have worked part-time or as freelancers in web3-related fields. For the healthy growth of Web 3.0 and the metaverse infrastructure, it is even more crucial to work towards an inclusive space and include the community in its creation.

Why Put in the Effort?

It is a win-win for all parties to work towards a more diverse and inclusive metaverse. From 1000 companies, those in the top quartile in gender diversity are 21% likelier to have above-average profitability than those in the bottom quartile. Companies with more than 30% female executives are likely to perform better than those with only 10–30% female executives. Gender-diverse teams make better business decisions 73% of the time. As per McKinsey, a “10% increase in gender diversity grows EBIT by 3.5% in the UK”

Opportunity for Change

With all this in mind, now is the time for women and all underrepresented groups to stand together. Now is the time to take their seat at the table, as put by Mariam Nusrat. Mariam is a Pakistani woman who went on to become an Education Specialist with the World Bank. She is now bringing a new meaning to web3 gaming and gaming as an educational and social tool through her no-code gaming platform, Breshna.

Similarly, several females and organizations have understood the opportunity that Web3 provides for a more inclusive and welcoming society and are working to make it happen. A prominent example is Rebecca Barkin, president of Lamina1. Her journey from Magic Leap to Lamina1 has been incredible and inspiring for women worldwide. Another notable name is Cathy Hackl, Founder and Chief Metaverse Officer for Journey.

The Chief Metaverse Officer is a new position for people responsible for managing the company’s Metaverse presence and initiatives. Several companies have appointed women as their Chief Metaverse Officers. Examples include Asmita Dubey as the Chief Digital and Marketing Officer for Loreal, Joanna Popper as the Chief Metaverse Officer for Creative Artists Agency, and Vanessa Mullin as the Director of Games, Metaverse, and Social at Agora.

Additionally, platforms like Unstoppable Women of Web3, Blockchain African Ladies, Black Women Blockchain Council, and Surge are all working towards empowering women in the Web3 space.

Hence, by following such examples, we realize that the possibility of positive change is real and the goal achievable, but we will have to work for it. Moreover, this requires a collective effort from all parties since building an inclusive and meritocratic environment benefits everyone.

Hindrances in improving diversity

There is a need for actions that define inclusivity in its true manner and allow women to participate in these technological advancements just like their male peers, so the question that needs to be addressed here is, what are the major factors standing in the way?

Existing Bias and Diversity Issues: As discussed earlier, the biases and diversity issues flowing from the existing tech industry into the metaverse are one of the biggest barriers to ensuring that the metaverse is built up inclusively.

Lack of Role Models: The poor ratio in terms of gender diversity for female leaders and pioneers serves as a severe lack of role models for young girls aspiring to enter the industry.

Lack of Regulation: Regulation in the metaverse is mainly absent, with much uncertainty over creating a proper regulatory framework due to the clash between real vs. virtual and staying “open” vs. closed. As such, regulation ensuring proper inclusion and diversity is even more absent, allowing the biases to be carried forward.

Safety Concerns: Another major roadblock for women is the increased concern over cyberbullying, privacy invasion, and online harassment. The first cases of harassment in the metaverse started flowing in soon after its launch. As researcher Nina Jane Patel reported in a post, her avatar received slurs, obscene appreciation, and insults, which soon turned into gang violence by the other avatars. She talked about how the experience was personally tormenting since the metaverse is designed to feel real and how she could not even get the safety barrier up in a panic. With the metaverse supposed to get more realistic and open, this is a primary concern for many people, especially women and children.

What Can Be Done?

Hire More Females in Managerial and Top Positions: Women are more likely to take the initiative and be involved in the metaverse, as shown in the figures above, especially regarding employee learning, marketing, and development. In addition, elevating more women into leadership positions will undoubtedly increase the number of initiatives and promote more acceptance and creativity in the industry.

Furthermore, 38% of women mention the lack of female role models as a solid barrier to entering the tech industry, reinforcing the “male-dominant” industry mindset. By placing women in key roles on various metaverse platforms, we can increase the number of women inspired by female role models from just 19% to a decent level.

Provide Training and Education to Women: For women who aspire to work in STEM domains, there is a significant gap in learning and educational opportunities. We may strive to eradicate this disparity and encourage them to pursue technical fields by giving them unique learning opportunities, such as online courses and free materials.

Increase Hybrid Use of Metaverse: As per McKinsey research, women are much more likely to engage in hybrid metaverse activities like live events, education, training, fitness, etc. By offering more hybrid events and experiences rather than just focusing on virtual-only elements, more women can be encouraged to adopt the metaverse as both consumers and developers.

Building Networks Promoting Diversity: The involvement of women in the metaverse can be enhanced by establishing appropriate networking and giving them opportunities to learn and grow.

A primary example of this is a collaboration between industry and academia, for example, having programs in various universities for mentoring women while they are still studying, offering them unique internships and training opportunities, etc. Platforms like Surge that bring women in the Web3 sphere together are also helpful in achieving this goal.

Workplace Flexibility: Since the metaverse is centered on the virtual world, women can be facilitated and encouraged to participate more actively by offering flexible employment choices, including hybrid contracts, work-from-home options, flexible time, and so on.

Countering Hiring Bias: Companies can give special attention to reducing gender-based bias in hiring and promotion by training the relevant staff and utilizing metaverse and virtual features. For example, they can hold interviews for key positions inside the metaverse with gender-neutral avatars to keep the discussion and opinion from being impacted by unintentional bias.

In a nutshell, these are only a few statistics portraying how gender diversity is crucial for businesses and decision-making, which will significantly impact the development of Web 3 and the metaverse. Therefore, it is up to us to prevent the same patterns from emerging in the future and to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table.