The ethos of the crypto industry is based upon decentralization, innovation, and democratization, and crypto advocates often pride themselves on challenging traditional norms. Yet, as the industry matures, questions around gender equality, particularly concerning pay disparities, have become increasingly worthy of scrutiny.
This disparity in questioning has significant implications on gender equality in startups, including crypto startups. The HBR study observes that entrepreneurs who were asked mostly prevention questions raised about seven times less for their startups than entrepreneurs who were asked mostly promotion questions. This perpetuates a cycle where women, who may be perceived as more risk-averse or less ambitious, receive less funding than their male counterparts.
However, the data are not always consistent and it is worthwhile to examine studies that find that not only is there no gender pay gap in the crypto industry, it is actually reversed. Pantera Capital recently conducted aon the gender pay gap in the crypto industry. They found that the crypto industry’s gender pay gap is “reversed,” meaning that women earn more than men in crypto by a statistically significant margin.
Despite the Pantera study's suggestion that the crypto sector is progressive in its compensation practices, the broader evidence points to the existence of a gender pay gap in crypto. Multiple studies reveal underlying systemic biases that may contribute to gender-based disparities in earnings and opportunities.