“Women and Blockchain Industry”, the report https://ift.tt/3EpR3rb

PRESS RELEASE 

The analysis “Women and Blockchain Industry. Survey on professional careers and female employment in Italy and Europe” was born from the partnership between the Blockchain Observatory (IBNO) of the University of Naples Federico II and the international community Blockchain Ladies. 

The origins of the report

The Italian members of the community participated in the drafting of the report (available on the Observatory website) as professionals engaged in the field in different roles and positions:  

• Caterina Ferrara (community founder);
• Raffaella Aghemo;
• Cristina Baldi;
• Laura Cappello; 
• Adriana Carotenuto;
• Enza Cirone;
• Francesca Failoni;
• Amelia Tomasicchio. 

The proposal to carry out a statistical survey, census the female professionals of this sector, and elaborate precise reflections on the theme of gender discrimination, was firmly submitted by the community and accepted without hesitation by IBNO. 

IBNO, born from the collaboration between the Department of Economics, Management, Institutions (DEMI) of the University of Naples Federico II, Italia4Blockchain and Cryptodiamond s.r.l, therefore, represents to date the first observatory that has embraced the issue of gender in the Blockchain industry as a topic of study and research, unreservedly accepting the strong message of inclusion that Blockchain Ladies since 2017 concretizes through its activities. 

The census of women in the blockchain industry

The document provides an annotated report about the responses provided voluntarily to the survey administered digitally in the past months; the census of female Blockchain professionals performed through the professional social network LinkedIn; punctual reflections emerged about the crucial and peculiar elements of the gender gap, for which consolidated information is available.  

Some topical issues are, in fact, deepened, describing particularly some aspects relevant to women’s empowerment in this field: from the relationship between women and journalism with a “crypto” theme to how the Blockchain is influencing the career of lawyers; from policies that encourage women and girls in accessing ICT professional roles to the pay gap; from the role of Blockchain as an enabler for the next generation of women entrepreneurs to fintech, mining, NFTs, and especially the importance of Blockchain in the workplace as a tool to prevent and counter abuse. 

Establishing programs to incentivize women to pursue careers in this area is critical, so the study aimed to analyze the issue better to refine actionable strategies increasingly. The report offers an overview of some of the most delicate factors that characterize the gender gap in order to offer increasingly targeted solutions and reduce the negative effects of the phenomenon. 

A phenomenon that is above all socio-economic and that requires effective interventions, appropriate and subject to quality controls for continuous improvement and a rigorous comparison between benefits and possible effects of overcoming the gender issue in the technological field. 

Soon, the English version of the report will be online. In January 2022, the public event is scheduled to present the survey results in the presence of the institutional actors involved and the co-authors. 

20/12/2021, Rome