Drag Women Into Crypto and They Will See How Great It Is: Exclusive Interview With Rieke Smakman for International Women’s Day

2020-3-8 23:10

Rieke Smakman is a Netherlands-based independent legal counselor specializing in fintech regulation. On occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, she gave us an exclusive interview.

BeInCrypto: You have been vocal on Twitter about women in tech and blockchain. What are the barriers that we need to overcome in order to achieve gender equality in these sectors?

Rieke Smakman: Well, I’m not entirely sure. I am personally interested in getting women into the blockchain world and trying to understand why there are still so few. I think it has to do with blockchain and Bitcoin being perceived as a very technical field, but ultimately, we are trying to build a parallel, different type of financial system where women really have a role to contribute in building up this system.

When pitching blockchain technology to women, we should focus on these wealth aspects. There are many disciplines involved in which we do have gender parity. We haven’t achieved parity in the technical field yet, but this does not mean that this ought to extrapolate to blockchain and the crypto industry.

I just want to make sure that women are aware of the contributions they can make, how great it is to contribute to this and how much it can do for their personal wealth if they can step up and get involved in this world. From a professional standpoint, there are just so many jobs that need to be done for this sector to succeed, so naturally, we need the female half of the population as well.

Getting back to your question, about what barriers we need to overcome, I think it’s very much a person-to-person issue. If every guy in the blockchain field would explain to one of their female contacts how great it is to be involved in this industry, they will come. I think that the crypto industry still has somewhat of a ‘bro’ attitude, with guys only inviting their male friends and I think they need to invite their female friends to meetups and events as well. Then, they will come and they will be excited about this as much as I am.

BeInCrypto: Right now, the number of women choosing a technical career path is still comparably low, but the blockchain industry also offers lots of non-tech jobs, such as legal counselors. Do you think that this is a good entry point for women in blockchain, or should we focus on bringing women to the tech side?

Rieke Smakman: I don’t really make a big distinction here. This is an emerging field and it’s not rocket science. I think that everyone gets stuck in blockchain from their own discipline and sees the appeal for this field. There are just so many people I come across, both male and female, who come from traditional industries.

They come into this industry and see from their own lens how great it is to be in this field. They see what it can do for their own profession because it touches so many disciplines and industries. So what’s not to like? When you see it, you see it and then you just go for it. It’s a very interesting time in this growing field and we need so many people on board, be it in tech, legal advice, accounting, or marketing, to make this industry come further to life.

I don’t see why we should appeal only to the tech side since we need people across the board. Also, there are already many women in tech, you just have to find them and say “Look at what we’re doing here, come and help us build this industry.” You have to find them and drag them into this world and then they will see for themselves.

BeInCrypto: There are a plethora of projects that encourage young women to choose a career in tech. Are there any specific projects that you root for?

Rieke Smakman: This is a difficult question and I think I should do more in this field, being more vocal. I have been involved in supporting kids who want to learn how to program and I really enjoyed it. I should do more of this. I don’t particularly see myself as a role model, but I think that it does make quite some difference when girls see other women coming from different backgrounds into tech. It can inspire them.

BeInCrypto: Recently, there have been accusations of sexism against Binance, like their CMO stating that key qualifications for female employees are being young, beautiful, and having “big boobs.” In one instance, private photos of a female employee were leaked. Is this just Binance being Binance, or are such occurrences common in the blockchain industry?

Rieke Smakman: I’m afraid that I’m not able to speak on that. I don’t think that I can give any reasonable indications. I haven’t experienced it myself, but I do hear rumors. These do not particularly revolve around the case you mentioned. It is really unfortunate if these are true, so that is really concerning.

BeInCrypto: Thank you for this interview, Mrs. Smakman.

Rieke Smakman: Thank you as well. I appreciate the opportunity for activities on International Women’s Day.

The post Drag Women Into Crypto and They Will See How Great It Is: Exclusive Interview With Rieke Smakman for International Women’s Day appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Similar to Notcoin - TapSwap on Solana Airdrops In 2024

origin »