Women in Blockchain: UK Event Provides Educational Opportunities and a Welcoming Environment

We need more women in blockchain, and providing a welcoming environment for educational opportunities is a wonderful place to start.

A recent study by the World Economic Forum found that women make up only 28% of the global tech workforce. This lack of representation is even more pronounced in emerging fields like blockchain, where women are estimated to hold less than 10% of roles.

To address this issue, a number of initiatives are being launched to encourage more women to enter the tech field and to provide them with the support and resources they need to succeed.

One such initiative is the Women in Tech Week, which was held in the United Kingdom for the first time in October. The event featured a variety of in-person and virtual events across the country, focusing on education, career development, and networking.

The Block Dojo was one of the partners for Women in Tech Week, and they hosted an in-person Blockchain Building 101 Session on October 8. The session was designed to provide women with a basic understanding of blockchain technology and its applications.

“When the team behind the inaugural Women in Tech Week reached out to us to become a partner and run a skills session to help bridge the tech gap facing women in the U.K., we jumped at the chance,” Cait Pilkington, Block Dojo Dealflow Manager, told TechCrunch.

“The tech space, and particularly Web3, is heavily dominated by men, and it can seem intimidating for women trying to break into the space or build a career within it,” she said.

The Block Dojo program is a global venture builder with a special focus on blockchain and future tech. According to Pilkington, the program strives to make access to technology and the space, in general, more inviting to women.

“We know that innovation is bred through diversity of thought. Increasing this diversity within the space introduces exciting new ideas and ways of doing things, which only improves things for everyone.”

The Blockchain Building 101 Session was held at Block Dojo's London HQ and provided a “safe space” to introduce women to the basics of blockchain technology with hands-on activities and an engaging presenter.

The session was led by Priyatham Varma, an in-house blockchain and AI expert at Block Dojo. According to Pilkington, Varma made understanding blockchain at the simplest level fun and easy.

“The session taught attendees the basics of building a block, validating, mining, smart contracts and tokens,” she said.

The attendees were also keen to discuss real-world applications of blockchain, which was a welcomed outcome for the Block Dojo team.

“We know how important it is to improve opportunities for female founders, and we’ve been actively making efforts to become more visible in female communities to ensure the next unicorn isn’t missed due to limited access,” Pilkington said.

“We're so pleased with our progress on this, and our current cohort, Cohort 9, is 50/50 female-founded to male-founded companies. We're aiming to continue this trajectory and ensure we remain accessible to female founders moving forward.”