{"id":6075,"date":"2020-08-12T10:09:22","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T14:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=6075"},"modified":"2021-06-22T17:29:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T21:29:55","slug":"blockchain-africa-women-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2020\/08\/12\/blockchain-africa-women-bitcoin","title":{"rendered":"Championing Blockchain Education in Africa: Women Leading the Bitcoin Cause"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s no secret that women are underrepresented in the technology and financial industries.<\/strong> In the U.S, women only hold a quarter of computing-related jobs. Some sectors, like software engineering, fare even worse, with female representation as low as 15%.<\/span><\/p>\n And now along comes blockchain, a technology that promises a global revolution through decentralization. Blockchain has already begun to transform many industries, from finance and supply chain management to healthcare and governance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, it has yet to significantly change the demographics of the tech industry.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a <\/span>study<\/span> conducted by Long Hash, a cryptocurrency research firm, women only represent 14.5% of blockchain startup team members. At the management level, the number is even lower, with women only accounting for 7% of executives and 8% of advisors.<\/span><\/p>\n In Africa, the story has been quite different. The continent has greatly taken to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and women have been playing a key role. Despite the tech industry traditionally being a \u2018boys\u2019 club,\u2019 a rapidly growing number of fearless, dedicated and determined women have taken the industry by storm, rising to various positions of power and influence.<\/span><\/p>\n In Africa, women have faced marginalization for centuries. Economic exclusion, lack of access to education, gender-based violence, limited participation in political decisions \u2013 these are just a few of the many challenges that the continent\u2019s women face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This has been one of the reasons Bitcoin, and the underlying blockchain technology, have appealed to many women. For them, blockchain promises freedom. The technology gives them hope that they can break free from the shackles of financial captivity by the legacy systems, decades of corruption, lack of opportunities and more.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, in Botswana Alakanani Itireleng has been on the frontline in preaching the blockchain gospel. Known as \u2018The Bitcoin Lady,\u2019 she is the founder of Satoshicentre, a blockchain hub which works with several developers to use blockchain to solve Africa\u2019s biggest challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n In South Africa, Sonya Kuhnel has continued to be one of the most renowned leaders in the blockchain space. Kuhnel is the founder of Xago, an XRP cryptocurrency exchange and payment gateway that allows retailers to accept XRP payments. She is also the founder of <\/span>The Blockchain Academy<\/span>, an institution committed to up-skilling 10,000 software engineers on blockchain technology by 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAfrica paints a different picture<\/h4>\n