The Women in Emerging Tech Conference, held on August 31 2022 at Deloitte Melbourne, inspired, educated and engaged the curious and those already established in the world of Web3 and emerging technology.
Women in Blockchain Queensland present – International Women’s Day Breakfast Panel. Presenting the 5 women panels are Karen Cohen, Mariella Mejia, Danielle Marie, Marina Kovalenko and Jo Rocca.
What a Fantastic way to kick off the start to this event with thanks to the great energy and insights from our all Women Panel Moderated by Karen Cohen, which will undoubtldly make it possible for the event to be a great success!
While cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs seem to be the talk of the town, many of us still have no idea what all of this even means?! 🤯 Luckily, we’ve got just what you’re looking for!
Michael Cotton, cofounder of Meld Ventures, Tristan Frizza, currently on the journey of founding his own DeFi startup and Karen Cohen, the deputy chair of Blockchain Australia, recently spoke to us about all things crypto, the future of decentralising finance, trends in the current market, their advice and recommendations for beginners and so much more!
You can watch the highlights of our event here: https://buff.ly/3wIUTHS and catch a recap summary on our blog below
https://medium.com/textbook-ventures/recap-intro-to-crypto-1aebe79be7f6
WIET – Women in Emerging Tech talk to a panel of experts Moderated and MC Karen Cohen including speakers Amy-Rose Goodey, Dr Jane Thomason and Dr Scott Bolland on the subject of Are Robots going to take our jobs in the future?
Karen Cohen, CEO Blockconsulting Group
Blockchain technology is revolutionising the IT industry with its trusted and permissioned approach to data verification and storage. However, the industry is still perceived not to be attractive for women.
Perhaps the answer comes from the industry’s origins, Bitcoin. Ten years ago, when Bitcoin was created, it was put forward as a solution to remove intermediaries such as banks and government from financial transactions.
Bitcoin is famed for ‘banking the unbanked’, by allowing people to download an app to their smart phones enabling instant crypto trading
By 2017 there were over 11.5 million active crypto wallets[i]. However,the technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, while brilliant, is still not user-friendly and until it becomes safer and simpler, we’re not going to see mainstream adoption.
Last year female cryptocurrency buyers accounted for only 8% of the total market. Although this was an increase 5% the year before, it is an indication that women will continue to shy away from things that are hard-to-use. We’re a minority at Crypto Meetups as the movement is still dominated by male techno geeks that love to talk about buying, selling and using cryptocurrency.
Rosa Thompson, co-founder of Women in Blockchain Melbourne talks about why the movement started “Walking into a Cryptocurrency Meetup can be daunting, for both men and women, it’s like speaking a whole new language, which is why we created Women in Blockchain (WIB) meetups. A place for women to learn about the technology and not feel afraid to ask questions.”
Blockchain start-ups create new opportunities for more traditional jobs such as finance, operations, and marketing. But in general, the start up community is still male dominated, with male founders currently representing 77% of Australian Start ups.
As Blockchain is one of the fastest growing emerging technologies it is imperative to even the playing field for women. We must focus on including women advisors at all levels from the Board, right throughout the organisation.
Over the last two years, we’ve seen the rise of some prominent female founders in Blockchain technology here in Australia such as Dr Jemma Green from Powerledger, Katrina Donaghy from Civic Ledger, Ruth Hatherley from Moneycatcha, Emma Weston from Agridigital and Leanne Kemp from Everledger. Sophie Gilder from CBA has also led the charge on some largescale global blockchain projects.
Women in Blockchain meetings give us an opportunity to speak with some of these leaders and to demystify technology for women who would otherwise not hear about these projects.
In her Forbes Magazine article, Dr Jemma Green stated “In crypto and blockchain less than nine percent of the current community are female and the number of female programmers in this space is even less.
Having more women in leadership positions in technology companies gives other women something more relatable to strive for. When women feel supported, and are willing to help one another, incredible things can happen.”
For women to get involved in a Blockchain Career, a quick search on SEEK.com shows that there are currently opportunities in technical development and programming, legal, project management and account management.
To upgrade your skills the Blockchain Collective have recently started the first Advanced Diploma in Applied Blockchain which can help you gain formal business qualifications. You can enrol at http://bccollective.io
If you want to volunteer your time, there are some great start ups looking for female talent and advisors. You can go along to a start up pitch night or Women in Blockchain event and offer your services, it is a warm and welcoming community.
Women in Blockchain operates in Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane however we’re part of a global network of “Women on the Block”. Created in NYC by Alexandra Levin and Cissy Ma to promote empowerment of women to ensure diversity and inclusion in blockchain technology.
“Globally events like Women on the Block (WOB) continue to lead the way. Women are elevated, educated and encouraged to be involved in the emerging and disruptive blockchain industry.” Katrina Donaghy, Co- Founder and Co-CEO of Civic Ledger .
“It’s vitally important that women, and by communication default, their children, families and networks, are included in learning conversations around Blockchain technology, as its implications in and impact on our planet’s future, are phenomenal.’ Abheeti Kathryn Pass, Women in Blockchain Perth organiser and co-founder of Crypto Clothesline Podcast.https://www.cryptoclothesline.com
The last few weeks I have been speaking to people about their focus and hoe they want to spend their time.
Will you be effective in 2019?
The people I hang with are smart. Smart and passionate. They care about personal identity, about the government’s new encryption rights. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/12/encryption-laws-will-allow-targeting-of-those-suspected-of-minor-crimes-experts-warn
They are advocates for privacy and decentralisation of data. This is a noble cause and I can’t help but get caught up in the passion.
If you have one cause in 2019 what will it be? How much time will you spend on it?
If you have 4 key focuses what will they be? Do a quick whiteboard session about how you are spending your time. Does it look effective or are you spending 90 percent of your time on non revenue building activities? If you are you need to fix this fast.
In 2019, I will be focussing on things that matter to me: women in technology, education, helping my clients retain and helping them to fine-tune their teams. i.e. Helping my clients to be successful.
Take a moment at the end of the 2018, pre-Christmas frenzy to re-allign your focus for Q1 2019, you will be very happy you did! Learn to say no to the things that you don’t have time for in your top 4.
Build an effective time management strategy, I use calendal (https://calendly.com) for meetings and block out the times when no one can book meetings at the time when I am most effective.
Say no to pointless meetings and coffees that just don’t make sense. Delegate to trusted parties the things you don’t have time to do yourself.
Make 2019 your most effective year!
