CRYPTO’S GENDER CHALLENGE
Regulatory uncertainties are doubtless a headwind to the expansion of the digital assets and payments market (see Regulation Radar page 28), but Tas is confident that these will prove to be bump in the road. A head of steam has built up behind digital assets and stablecoin in particular, which Tas says is a great opportunity for BCB. “If we keep listening to clients and potential clients and ensure we continue to deliver what they are looking for then I think we have a very promising future ahead.” ◆ “I have never wanted us to be a company that sets human resources targets to make itself look good. I think we have ended up with a really good gender balance mainly because of our company culture. It's about the whole package, the employee benefits that are very family orientated for both men and women, and the collaborative atmosphere,” she says. “If you hire the best people without fear or favour, and you have a positive and collaborative culture so you retain those people, you can get a long way towards having a representative workforce without having to set artificial targets.” BCB stands out in the male-dominated world of digital assets, according to Rachel Ramsay, Head of People at BCB Group. "We have pretty much a 50/50 split from a gender perspective and that includes our senior leadership team which is 50% women,” says Ramsay. Culture breeds diversity The pipeline of talent is a key constraining factor in technology where women are underrepresented in science technology engineering and maths (STEM). According to the European Commission, only one in three STEM graduates and only one in five information communication and technology graduates in Europe are women. 2 Inevitably, therefore, technology departments across all industries are predominantly male. “Our tech team is predominantly male, and we are making efforts to improve that,” says Ramsay, “We’re hiring at the moment, and we have asked the agency specifically for a diverse pool of candidates.” Ramsay, however, says hiring must always be based on merit and, while BCB has a 50/50 gender split, artificial targets and tick boxes have never been the approach. Technology and financial services have long been male- dominated industries. Can crypto break the mould? Cryptocurrency has often been derided for its gender imbalance, and the stereotypical swaggering or nerdy ‘cryptobro’ is an enduring image, particular among those outside the industry. In part, this image is not entirely unearned. Estimates for the proportion of women working in the crypto industry vary widely ranging from just 10% to 25%. But even this higher figure suggests crypto is hardly an industry at the cutting edge of diversity. Yet this general picture does not hold true everywhere. There are many women in senior positions in the industry and in many companies including BCB women are well represented across the workforce. According to Camille Tas, BCB Group’s Head of Sales, there has been a clear shift in recent years toward a more even gender balance in crypto, though there may be some way to go. “I started my career in the database sector and then I went into fintech, so I am very used to a male-dominated industry,” says Tas. “In the database sector I was often the only woman in the room and, until a few years ago, crypto conferences were similar. There would be just a handful of women; so few of us in fact, that we all knew each other and saw each other at events again and again. But things have evolved positively, and I see more and more women attending the conferences.”
I have never wanted us to be a company that sets human resources targets to make itself look good. I think we have ended up with a really good gender balance mainly because of our company culture. It's about the whole package, the employee benefits that are very family orientated for both men and women, and the collaborative atmosphere. Rachel Ramsay
1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/ 680f6387faff81833fcae94b/0302425_draft_RAO_SI.pdf 2. Women in Digital | Shaping Europe’s digital future
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