The Crypto Valley Association (CVA) in Switzerland will be holding a vote later this month to elect two female members to its board.

Gender equality has always been an issue in most workplaces. Without delving too deep into the topic, women have long been told that their place was in the home while the big, strong man goes out to hunt and work. However, and thankfully, this patriarchal mindset continues to shift bringing with it a slow but eventual change to a world where people aren’t judged on what’s below their belt.

One place where this gender gap is glaringly obvious is, in fact, in our very own cryptocurrency industry. According to The Next Web, a report by investment platform, eToro, showed that a whopping 91.5% of crypto investors were male while the remaining meager 8.5% were female.

The Future is Indeed Female

Perhaps what could change this is seeing more women prominent in the industry. Women who are not afraid to, and actually welcome, stepping into this virtual man cave and making their own mark in this exciting and revolutionary industry.

Switzerland’s Crypto Valley Association (CVA) is taking a small step in this direction. In a bid to make the organization more inclusive, it will elect two women to serve on the board, bringing the total number of female board members to, well, two. Small steps.

Leeanne Abapo Senn, who is the CVA communications chief, said:

We want to create a space that works for everyone rather than just carry on with the same old boys’ club and their cronies. Our objective is to elevate the dynamic women who have contributed to Crypto Valley and to create a stronger, more inclusive ecosystem.

The vote is scheduled for the 20th of September with 43 nominations for female candidates received.

Goodbye Boys Club

This new vote comes after the association’s testosterone-filled June elections where all five elected board members were male, four of which were easily reelected. These members will continue to serve in addition to the two new female members.

Swissinfo reported that the new members will have “similar” duties to those of their male counterparts. There is, of course, the assumption that this would be a given, but for clarity’s sake, the CVA stated:

The two new members of the board will fill similar roles to those of the current members, including co-chairing the CVA working groups, receiving international delegations, interacting with other Swiss and international organizations, presenting the CVA and Crypto Valley at external events and supporting the CVA’s own local and international initiatives.

While this is obviously a step in the right direction, it did take them a while to get there. Hopefully, we can see other organizations start to do the same.

Our industry is all about transparency, innovation and changing the status quo. What could be more disruptive than changing the centuries-old mindset about gender inequality?

What do you think of the CVA’s move towards gender inclusivity? Let us know in the comments below!

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